- Date
- April 21, 1985, 15:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Union City, TN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N4374GMcCulloch J-2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850421036929A
- Case key
- 6823
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Pilot with 7900 total hours and four hours in gyoplane was on solo cross country training flight. During takeoff at enroute stop rotor blades struck vertical stabilizer. Pilots instructor said witnesses reported that the gyroplane was rotated abruptly during takeoff resulting in rotorblades striking the vertical stabilizer.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4374G
- Reported as
- McCulloch J-2
- Category
- Gyroplane
- Serial number
- 084
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A2D, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Ada Aircraft Museum
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- UCY · Union City, TN
- Destination
- PAH · Paducah, KY
- Airport
- UCY · Everett-Stewart Field
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 64
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 7,935 total · 4 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.