- Date
- February 4, 1992, 14:45 local (22:45 UTC)
- Place
- Rosamond, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N169RM85 Manista KB-2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 9, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920204001819A
- Case key
- 27551
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 main rotor RPM adequate to avoid flapping. Factors which contributed to the accident were related to the pilot's performance of an excessively abrupt maneuver.
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 local area flight the pilot was observed circling over a residential area at a low altitude. The pilot initiated an abrupt turning maneuver while changing the experimental gyroplane's pitch attitude. Rotor RPM decreased and the blades began excessively flapping. The blades collided with and severed the rudder and propeller. Thereafter, the gyroplane nosed down and descended (uncontrolled) into a city street.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N169RM
- Reported as
- 85 Manista KB-2
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- L169844
- Airframe hours
- 173
- Engine
- Mcculloch 4318A&E/0-100, 70 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Calvin C. Peterson
- Registered owner
- Robert R. Manista, Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
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
- 66
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 5,500 total · 38 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.