- Date
- December 31, 1988, 13:15 local (18:15 UTC)
- Place
- Clearwater, FL
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N70319Air Command 532E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 29, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19881231069949A
- Case key
- 32378
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 said he did not remember anything about the accident. Witnesses stated that at about 50 ft AGL on final approach the gyrocopter rapidly descended. It remained level and hit hard, rolling over on impact. Witnesses stated that the engine was running until impact. The student was a former military pilot.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N70319
- Reported as
- Air Command 532E
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 0459
- Airframe hours
- 40
- Engine
- Rotax 532, 64 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert G Williams
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · December 31, 1988 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- CLW · Clearwater, FL
- Airport
- CLW · Clearwater Executive, runway 15, 3,000 × 75 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
- 71
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 3,200 total · 46 in this make and model · 46 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PIE, 9 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.
Other investigations on N70319 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.