- Date
- April 7, 1990, 17:11 local (21:11 UTC)
- Place
- Okeechobee, FL
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N532RCFarrington AIR Command 532
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 29, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900407011629A
- Case key
- 32555
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
Pilot's decision to attempt to fly the gyrocopter without proper training resulting in the inflight loss of control and subsequent crash.
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
Plt had received only aprox. 1 hour total gyrocopter flight time and approx. 15 minutes of dual instruction and had not been signed off for solo flight. Plt had expired medical certificate and no record of having received a biennial flight review. Gyrocopter had no record of having current inspection. Plt inadvertently let gyrocopter porpoise resulting in main rotor RPM slowing and main rotor blade contacting rotor head and propeller. All control was lost and gyrocopter descended out of control colliding with the ground. No post crash evidence of failure of the structure, flight controls, or engine.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N532RC
- Reported as
- Farrington AIR Command 532 (AIR COMMAN)
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- FAC-10
- Airframe hours
- 596
- Engine
- Rotax 532, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert Lewis Demarco
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Airport
- OBE · Okeechobee County
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
- 51
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Expired
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 251 total · 1 in this make and model · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FPR, 30 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.