- Date
- October 2, 2007, 18:15 local (22:15 UTC)
- Place
- Ashland, KY
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N444PDDegelia Rotor Flight Dynamic
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 29, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20071002830529A
- Case key
- 66816
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's failure to maintain aircraft control during the landing flare resulting in a hard landing. Contributing factors were the crosswind and the pilot's failure to recover from a bounced landing.
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
According to the pilot he was conducting touch and go landings. During the landing flare the nose of the gyroplane drifted to the right. The pilot reported that he was not able to compensate for the winds. The gyroplane impacted the runway with the left landing gear followed by the right landing gear. The gyroplane bounced and impacted the runway again, coming to rest on its side, resulting in minor damage. The pilot sustained serious injuries. The pilot reported winds 90 degrees to the runway at 10 to 15 miles per hour. An examination of the gyroplane's structure and systems revealed minor damage and no anomalies.
Factual narrative
According to a telephone conversation with the pilot, he was conducting touch and go landings to runway 28 (5,602 feet by 100 feet, asphalt). He stated that during the landing flare, the nose of the gyroplane drifted to the right. The pilot reported that he was not able to compensate for the winds. The gyroplane impacted the runway with the left landing gear followed by the right landing gear. The gyroplane bounced and impacted the runway again, coming to rest on its side. The left landing gear separated and the rotor blade sustained impact damage. The pilot reported winds 90 degrees to the runway at 10 to 15 miles per hour.
The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies with the gyroplane. An examination of the gyroplane's structure and systems, conducted by the FAA, revealed minor damage and no anomalies. The pilot sustained serious injury during the impact.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N444PD
- Reported as
- Degelia Rotor Flight Dynamic
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- PD-1
- Airframe hours
- 68
- Engine
- Bombardier-Rotax Type 582, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · March 1, 2007
- Departed
- KDWU · Ashland, KY
- Destination
- KDWU · Ashland, KY
- Airport
- DWU · Ashland Regional Airport, runway 28, 5,602 × 100 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
- 55
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 1, 2005
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 91 total · 66 in this make and model · 3 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.09 inHg
- Observed at
- KHTS
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.