- Date
- January 20, 2023, 15:15 local (20:15 UTC)
- Place
- Wauchula, FL · on AIrport
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N40DGDegraw Richard R Summit 23
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20230120000579A
- Case key
- 106615
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 improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing and dynamic rollover.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot was attempting to make a crosswind landing and flared too high. He tried to recover by adding power, but it was too late, and the gyroplane landed hard on the left main landing gear. The gyroplane then bounced back and forth on both main landing gear before it rolled over and substantially damaged the main rotor blades and tail section. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the gyroplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N40DG
- Reported as
- Degraw Richard R Summit 23
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 9203
- Built
- 1992
- Airframe hours
- 350.7
- Engine
- Rotax 912UL, 80 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 11, 2022
- Airport
- CHN · Wauchula Muni, runway 36, 4,005 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Unknown
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
- 81
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 15, 2021
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 2,260 total · 50 in this make and model · 2,107.4 as pilot in command · 0.6 in the last 90 days · 0.6 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.09 inHg
- Observed at
- KBOW, 26 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KBOW 202045Z 30003KT 10SM SKC 27/17 A3009
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 15, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 12.6 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.