- Date
- December 24, 2005, 16:15 local (21:15 UTC)
- Place
- Wintersville, OH
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9071HCarpenter RAF 2000
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 28, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Cleveland, OH, FSDO
- FAA report
- 20051224032949A
- Case key
- 63091
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
The pilot not maintaining aircraft control during the landing. A factor was the reported wind gust.
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 experimental amateur-built gyrocopter operated by an unlicensed pilot sustained substantial damage when the aircraft impacted terrain during a landing. The pilot stated, "Came in for a landing. I hit a gust of wind. It pushed me up [and] sideways. I tried to land and hit the runway sideways and turned over." Recorded wind in the area was 200 degrees at 7 knots. The pilot's safety recommendation was, "More training would have prevented this accident."
Factual narrative
On December 24, 2005, about 1615 eastern standard time, an experimental amateur-built Carpenter RAF 2000 gyrocopter, N9071H, operated by an unlicensed pilot sustained substantial damage when the aircraft impacted terrain during a landing on runway 32 at the Jefferson County Airpark (2G2), near Wintersville, Ohio. The personal flight was operating under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file. The pilot reported no injuries. The local flight originated at 2G2 about 1530.
The pilot's accident report stated:
Flew pattern a few times. Came in for landing ok. I took off again
and flew around airport pattern. Came in for a landing. I hit a gust
of wind. It pushed me up [and] sideways. I tried to land and hit the
runway sideways and turned over.
At 1553, the recorded weather at the Wheeling Ohio County Airport, near Wheeling, West Virginia, was: Wind 200 degrees at 7 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; sky condition clear; temperature 12 degrees C; dew point -4 degrees C; altimeter 29.79 inches of mercury.
The pilot did not report his accumulated flight times in his accident report. The pilot's safety recommendation was, "More training would have prevented this accident."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9071H
- Reported as
- Carpenter RAF 2000
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- H2-95-6-158
- Engine
- Subaru EJ, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Joseph F. Smith
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- 2G2 · Wintersville, OH
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
- 60
- Injuries
- None
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 0 total · 0 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.79 inHg
- Observed at
- HLG
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.