- Date
- August 29, 1992, 11:10 local (16:10 UTC)
- Place
- Dumas, TX
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N700TBWoodstock AIR Command 532
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920829033919A
- Case key
- 18325
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 airspeed. A factor was the high density altitude.
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
A private pilot was flying his recently purchased gyrocopter in the traffic pattern. A witness reported hearing a power reduction while the gyrocopter was on a high downwind. Airspeed was not maintained and the rotor RPM decayed to the point where the nose pitched down as the gyrocopter rolled to the left in an uncontrolled descent to the ground. Density altitude was 6600 feet.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N700TB
- Reported as
- Woodstock AIR Command 532 (AIR COMMAN)
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 532
- Engine
- Bombardier ROTAX, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91 subpart F
- Operator
- Schmidt, Barney B., Jr., doing business as Schmidt Excavating
- Registered owner
- Schmidt, Barney B., Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- DUX
- Destination
- DUX
- Airport
- DUX · Dumas Municipal, runway 19, 5,473 × 75 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
- 62
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Center
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,500 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DHT, 35 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.