- Date
- August 6, 2006, 15:11 local (20:11 UTC)
- Place
- Denton, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N975JPPearson Superfly
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 31, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20060806014569A
- Case key
- 64298
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 loss of control as result of the pilot's selection of an unsuitable landing area. A contributing factor was the muddy terrain.
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 500-hour private pilot, who reported having accumulated a total of 300-hours in make and model, was landing the single-seat homebuilt gyrocraft at the edge of a dried-up lakebed. The pilot stated that he made a power-on landing to keep the weight off the landing gear. Upon touchdown, the gear broke through the thin crust and was "mired in 15 inches deep mud." The tricycle gear equipped gyrocopter tipped to the right and yawed to the left as the main rotor impacted the ground and the rotor mast was sheared at the engine mount. The Rotax powered gyrocraft came to rest on its right side and the pilot was able to egress the aircraft unassisted. The pilot reported that there were no problems with the gyro's flight controls or engine prior to the mishap. The pilot reported that the winds were calm at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
The 500-hour private pilot, who reported having accumulated a total of 300-hours in make and model, was landing the single-seat homebuilt gyrocraft at the edge of a dried-up lakebed. The pilot stated that we made a power-on landing to keep the weight off the landing gear. Upon touchdown, the gear broke through the thin crust and was "mired in 15 inches deep mud." The tricycle gear equipped gyrocopter tipped to the right and yawed to the left as the main rotor impacted the ground and the rotor mast was sheared at the engine mount. The Rotax powered gyrocraft came to rest on its right side and the pilot was able to egress the aircraft unassisted. The pilot reported that there were no problems with the gyro's flight controls or engine prior to the mishap. The pilot reported that the winds were calm at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N975JP
- Reported as
- Pearson Superfly
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 001
- Engine
- Rotax 582UL, 66 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- 30F · Lake Dallas, TX
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
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 500 total · 300 in this make and model · 30 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 100 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.