- Date
- October 16, 2003, 08:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- Buckeye, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4132RMayfield RAF 2000
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20031016036769A
- Case key
- 58171
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 misjudged the landing flare.
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 student pilot made a hard landing during his initial solo flight. After a normal traffic pattern, he rolled out on final approach. When he was over the numbers, he leveled off, reduced power, and brought the stick back to flare. The gyroplane was at 5 miles per hour (mph) and 6 feet above ground level (agl). The tailwheel struck first, followed by the right main gear and the main rotor blades. The gyroplane rolled to the left and spun 180 degrees. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions and felt he leveled off too high.
Factual narrative
On October 16, 2003, about 0830 mountain standard time, a Mayfield RAF 2000 experimental gyroplane, N4132R, experienced a hard landing during an initial solo flight at Buckeye Municipal Airport (BXK), Buckeye, Arizona. A private individual was operating the flight under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The student pilot was not injured; the gyroplane sustained substantial damage. The local instructional flight departed Buckeye about 0825. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
In a written statement, the pilot reported that he was attempting his first solo flight. After a normal traffic pattern, he rolled out on final approach. When he was over the numbers, he leveled off, reduced power, and brought the stick back to flare. The gyroplane was at 5 miles per hour (mph) and 6 feet above ground level (agl). The tail wheel struck first, followed by the right main gear and the main rotor blades. The gyroplane rolled to the left and spun 180 degrees. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions and felt he leveled off too high during the flare.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4132R
- Reported as
- Mayfield RAF 2000
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 112967212
- Engine
- Subaru EJ-22, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James Mayfield
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- BXK · Buckeye, AZ
- Destination
- BXK · Buckeye, AZ
- Airport
- BXK · Buckeye Municipal, runway 17
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
- 72
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 53 total · 53 in this make and model · 36 in the last 90 days · 26 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.