- Date
- September 21, 1988, 16:40 local (21:40 UTC)
- Place
- Cottage Grove, WI
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7015CHeibel AIR Command 532
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 25, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880921043729A
- Case key
- 13885
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
While in cruise flight this amateur built gyrocopter experienced a main rotor strike to the rudder and propeller. The student pilot who had a total of eight hours flight time, all in this aircraft, was conducting a solo flight in this dual control gyrocopter. He received fatal injuries during the in-flight breakup and impact with the terrain. The aircraft was destroyed. The flight manual indicates 'the pilot must have at least 50 hours of solo flight time logged in a commander gyroplane before attempting to fly the 532 commander dual seat gyroplane...'
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7015C
- Reported as
- Heibel AIR Command 532 (AIR COMMAN)
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1908
- Airframe hours
- 22
- Engine
- Rotax 532, 64 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Robert M. Heibel
- Registered owner
- Robert M Heibel
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Airport
- 52C · Blackhawk 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
- 47
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 8 total · 8 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MSN, 7 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.