# NTSB DEN01LA015: Murdock RAF 2000 GTX, N6382T, Ogden, UT, November 18, 2000 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: November 18, 2000, 12:50 local (19:50 UTC) - Place: Ogden, UT - Location: 41.1951° N, 112.0122° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at OGDEN-HINCKLEY (OGD), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.1951&lon=-112.0122&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report July 26, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 50646 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN01LA015 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/50646/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN01LA015 ## Probable cause The pilot's improper touchdown which resulted in a hard landing. Factors were lack of familiarity with the aircraft and lack of total experience. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown - touchdown - improper, pilot in command (cause) - lack of familiarity with aircraft, pilot in command (contributing factor) - lack of total experience, pilot in command (contributing factor) ## Analysis During high-speed taxi tests on the first flight of the gyroplane after construction was completed, the student pilot/builder informed the tower he might become airborne for a short time during the test run. The gyroplane did become airborne and reached an altitude of 100 to 200 feet above ground level followed by a hard landing on the runway. The gyroplane rolled on its side following the landing. ## Factual narrative On November 18, 2000, at 1250 mountain standard time, a Murdock RAF 2000 GTX experimental gyrocopter, N6382T, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing at Ogden Hinckley Airport, Ogden, Utah. The student pilot, the sole occupant and builder of the gyrocopter was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for this local flight operating under Title 14 CFR Part 91 and no flight plan was filed. The flight had been airborne approximately 1 minute. According to Air Traffic Control personnel in the tower who witnessed the accident, the pilot was doing high-speed taxi tests on runway 21 and informed the tower he would be getting airborne on the next test. The gyrocopter lifted off and gained between 100 and 200 feet altitude followed by a hard landing. The ship bounced, turned 90 degrees to the runway and rolled on its side. The pilot, in his written statement, confirmed the observations made from the tower. He said this was the first flight of the gyroplane and he had spent a couple of hours doing ground maneuvers prior to the high-speed taxi in which the aircraft became airborne. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6382T](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6382T-2017-06-14), registration cancelled 2017-06-14, S/N H2-97-8-332, built 1999 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: MURDOCK RAF 2000 GTX (RAF 2000 G) - Registry model: [Murdock William RAF 2000 GTX](https://openairdocs.org/model/murdock-william-raf-2000-gtx) (registry code 05607GA) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Subaru ALL MDLS A/B](https://openairdocs.org/engine/subaru-all-mdls-a-b) (registry code 59050, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Gyroplane, amateur-built - Serial number: H2-97-8-332 - Engines: Subaru EJ22/098093 130 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 91 - Registered owner: William C. Murdock - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Departed: OGD - Airport: OGD, Ogden - Hinckley, runway 21, 8,103 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 51; student; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 17 total ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 160° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 97 °F, dew point 115 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: OGD, 1 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20001118022979A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20001118022979A), Nov 18, 2000: Amtr RAF2000GTX, Ogden, UT, No damage. (-23) Student pilot was conducting unsupervised taxi and "short hops" down the runway. Pilot chose to take the a/c off and climbed to approx. 150 feet AGL then… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.