- Date
- January 15, 1989, 11:04 local (18:04 UTC)
- Place
- Tucson, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N61LMMurphey Vancraft 532
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 31, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890115000469A
- Case key
- 26129
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
Inadequate lookout by the pilot during unwarranted low flight.
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
During a pleasure flight, the gyrocopter collided with transmission wires. It subsequently collided with the terrain. The weather at the time of the accident was clear and visibility was 50 miles. No evidence of mechanical failures or malfunctions was found. A witness reported that the engine sounded 'fine' and that he observed the gyrocopter to descend just before impact, as if the pilot was attempting to avoid contact with the wires. Another witness said it appeared that the gyrocopter was in level flight when it struck wires.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N61LM
- Reported as
- Murphey Vancraft 532 (VANCRAFT 5)
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- M19861
- Airframe hours
- 76
- Engine
- Rotax 532LC, 64 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Lawrence B. Murphy, Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 18, 1988 · 32 hours before
- Departed
- 4A8 · Tucson, AZ
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
- 56
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 3,200 total · 89 in this make and model · 5 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 6° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 19 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TUS, 10 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.