- Date
- May 13, 1989, 17:15 local (23:15 UTC)
- Place
- Eldon, MO
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N37511Bensen B-8KSB
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 11, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890513053029A
- Case key
- 34683
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 failure to maintain aircraft control which resulted in collision with the terrain during take off.
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 pilot lost control of the gyrocopter during the attempted takeoff. The rotor system, rudder assembly, and propeller made contact with the terrain. The pilot held no airmen of medical certificates. FAA records in Oklahoma city, Oklahoma, reflect that the gyrocopter was sold in 1980 with no subsequent registration.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N37511
- Reported as
- Bensen B-8KSB
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- SB001
- Engine
- Mcculloch 4318E, 72 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Mcgrew, Joseph
- Registered owner
- Mcgrew, Joseph T
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 15, 1989 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- Eldon, MO
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
- 44
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 135 total · 100 in this make and model · 120 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- JEF, 36 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.