- Date
- July 5, 1998, 17:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Placida, FL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N2289VBenson B-8M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 19, 1999
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980705024519A
- Case key
- 43073
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Excessive taxi speed. A related factor was the wind gusts.
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
The non-certificated pilot stated he was taxiing too fast downwind, encountered a gust of wind and lost control of the aircraft resulting in a collision with the ground. The gyrocopter subsequently nosed over and came to rest inverted. The collision with the ground resulted in bending of the main rotor blades, rear propeller blades broken off and all structural components of the gyroplane bent and twisted.
Factual narrative
On July 5, 1998, about 1700 eastern daylight time, a Benson B-8M homebuilt gyrocopter, N2289V, collided with the ground while taxiing at Rotonda International Airport, in Placida, Florida. The gyrocopter was operated by the non-certificated pilot under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan had been filed. The non-certificated pilot received minor injuries and the gyrocopter was substantially damaged. The flight originated from Rotonda International Airport about 10 minutes prior to the accident.
The non-certificated pilot stated he was taxiing too fast downwind, encountered a gust of wind and lost control of the aircraft resulting in a collision with the ground. The accident occurred on July 5, 1998, however, the Safety Board was not notified of the accident until July 14, 1998.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector who visited the scene, the gyrocopter nosed over and came to rest inverted. The main rotor blades were bent beyond repair, rear propeller blades broken off, and all structural components of the gyrocopter bent and twisted resulting in substantial damage.
The pilot estimates he had 60 total hours flown as Pilot In Command of this make/model aircraft, including 10 hours flown over the last 90 days.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2289V
- Reported as
- Benson B-8M
- Category
- Unknown, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 01
- Airframe hours
- 190
- Engine
- Mcculloch 4318A&E/0-100, 72 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Kevin Orf
- Registered owner
- William L. Olmsted
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Airport
- X54 · Rotonda International, runway 5, 4,200 × 50 ft, asphalt
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
- 30
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 60 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TPA, 68 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.