- Date
- September 22, 2001, 13:50 local (17:50 UTC)
- Place
- Barre, VT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N90407Carver RAF 2000 GTX SE
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 3, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO-05
- FAA report
- 20010922026199A
- Case key
- 53510
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 aircraft control during the takeoff. A factor in this accident were wind gusts.
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 was departing from runway 5, when he experienced a "strong cross-wind gust," which lifted the gyroplane off the ground, and turned it into the wind. The gyroplane then dropped to the ground, perpendicular to the runway, and flipped over. The pilot reported he experienced no mechanical problems with the gyroplane. Winds reported at the airport about the time of the accident were variable in direction at 6 knots, with 15 knot gusts.
Factual narrative
On September 22, 2001, about 1350 eastern daylight time, a homebuilt RAF 2000 GTX SE Gyroplane, N90407, was substantially damaged during takeoff at the Edward F. Knapp State Airport (MPV), Barre, Vermont. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot stated he was departing from runway 5, a 4,022 foot-long, 100 foot-wide asphalt runway, with the intention of practicing takeoffs and landings. As the gyroplane was nearing rotation speed, he experienced a "strong cross-wind gust," which lifted the gyroplane off the ground, and turned it into the wind. The gyroplane then dropped to the ground, perpendicular to the runway, and flipped over.
The pilot reported 215 hours of total flight experience, which included 38 hours in make and model during the previous 90 days. He also stated he did not experience any mechanical problems with the gyroplane.
Winds reported at the airport about the time of the accident were variable in direction at 6 knots, with 15 knot gusts.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N90407
- Reported as
- Carver RAF 2000 GTX SE
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- H2956193
- Airframe hours
- 73
- Engine
- Subaru EJ-22, 130 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Dennis P. Carver
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · August 20, 2001 · 18 hours before
- Departed
- MPV · Barre, VT
- Destination
- MPV · Barre, VT
- Airport
- MPV · Edward F Knapp State, runway 5, 4,022 × 100 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
- 53
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 215 total · 70 in this make and model · 38 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 6 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.97 inHg
- Observed at
- MPV
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.