- Date
- October 15, 1997, 14:16 local (20:16 UTC)
- Place
- Tooele, UT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N4412XSego Tool Hawk H2X
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 15, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19971015031349A
- Case key
- 20455
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. Contributing was the inadequate design of the flight control systems, resulting in slow response to pilot input.
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 taking off for one of a series of flight tests. He reported that shortly after liftoff, the gyroplane made an uncommanded roll to the right. The pilot said that he applied full left cyclic and full left rudder, but the main rotor system struck the ground. The main rotor blades separated from the gyroplane and the aircraft came to rest with the fuselage twisted. Postcrash examination of the gyroplane by the design/manufacturing team revealed that the control system design of this aircraft had an inherent lag in time between control input and aircraft response. They found the runway that the gyroplane was taking off from slopped 1.7 to 1.8 degrees to the left. They said that 'the moment the aircraft left the ground, gravity moved the fuselage to the left and the rotor disk to the right.' Subsequently, a right turn was initiated and ground contact was made by the main rotor disk before the pilot's correction inputs could take effect.
Factual narrative
On October 15, 1997, approximately 1416 mountain daylight time, a Sego Tool Hawk H2X gyroplane, N4412X, was substantially damaged when it impacted the ground during initial climb following takeoff near Tooele, Utah. The airline transport rated pilot, the sole occupant in the gyroplane, was not injured. The gyroplane was being operated by Geoen Brothers Aviation, Inc., under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local test flight that was originating at the time of the accident. No flight plan had been filed.
According to the pilot, he was taking off for one of a series of flight tests. He reported that shortly after liftoff, the gyroplane made an uncommanded roll to the right. The pilot said that he applied full left cyclic and full left rudder, but the main rotor system struck the ground. The main rotor blades separated from the gyroplane and the aircraft came to rest with the fuselage twisted.
Postcrash examination of the gyroplane by the design/manufacturing team revealed that the control system design of this aircraft had an inherent lag in time between control input and aircraft response. They found the runway that the gyroplane was taking off from slopped 1.7 to 1.8 degrees to the left. They said that "the moment the aircraft left the ground, gravity moved the fuselage to the left and the rotor disk to the right." Subsequently, a right turn was initiated and ground contact was made by the main rotor disk before the pilot's correction inputs could take effect.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4412X
- Reported as
- Sego Tool Hawk H2X
- Category
- Gyroplane
- Serial number
- 201X
- Airframe hours
- 40
- Engine
- Chevrolet V-8, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Groen Brothers Aviation Inc.
- Registered owner
- Sego Tool Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special); Special, Special flight (Special)
- Departed
- T62
- Airport
- T62 · Tooele South Army Depot, runway 36, 5,000 × 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
- 49
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 12,663 total · 6 in this make and model · 12,478 as pilot in command · 48 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 37 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SLC, 23 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.