- Date
- November 9, 1985, 12:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Dunnellon, FL
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N54WPParsons B/P Gyrocopter
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19851109076189A
- Case key
- 31471
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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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 instructor plt who was not rated in helicopters or gyroplanes and had an expired instructors certificate was imparting instruction to a student plt in a 2 place homebuilt gyrocopter. When on downwind turn to base leg the student tipped the rotor disc forward and the rotor RPM decayed. The rotor then was observed to strike the rudder and it failed. The acft then was observed to fall in uncontrolled flt to the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N54WP
- Reported as
- Parsons B/P Gyrocopter (B/P GYROCO)
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 128
- Airframe hours
- 85
- Engine
- Mcculloch O-100, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Williams Parson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 9, 1985 · 85 hours before
- Departed
- X35 · Dunnellon, FL
- Airport
- X35 · Dunnellon Muni, runway 5, 5,000 × 150 ft, asphalt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 59
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight engineer, Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 20,000 total · 50 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GNV, 46 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.