- Date
- October 20, 2003, 14:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Leesburg, VA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N540CXHarris BRC 540C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 29, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO-21
- FAA report
- 20031020032739A
- Case key
- 58226
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 in command's failure to maintain directional control and his inadvertent activation of the right rudder pedal.
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 owner was neither rated nor current to fly the gyrocopter. The pilot was seated in the right seat, and the owner was seated in the left seat. The owner flew a left hand traffic pattern for the runway, and the pilot took control of the gyrocopter for touchdown. However, during the transition of control, the pilot's feet entangled in the rudder pedals. After touchdown, the gyrocopter began to drift right. The pilot attempted to correct the drift by depressing the left rudder pedal. However, the pilot accidentally depressed the owner's right rudder pedal, rather than his own left rudder pedal.
Factual narrative
On October 20, 2003, about 1430 eastern daylight time, an amateur built BRC 540C gyrocopter, N540CX, was substantially damaged while landing at Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO), Leesburg, Virginia. The certificated commercial pilot and pilot rated passenger/owner were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot stated that the owner was neither rated nor current to fly the gyrocopter. The pilot was seated in the right seat, and the owner was seated in the left seat. The rotor blades had recently been re-balanced, and the pilot and owner were conducting local test flights in the airport traffic pattern. The owner flew a left hand traffic pattern for runway 17 at JYO, and the pilot took control of the gyrocopter to make a full stop landing. During the next circuit, the owner flew another left hand pattern for runway 17, and the pilot took control of the gyrocopter for touchdown. Shortly after touchdown, the gyrocopter yawed right, rolled left, and came to rest on its left side about 10 feet from the right edge of the runway. The rotor system and left fuselage sustained substantial damage.
The pilot further stated that it was possible his feet became entangled in the rudder pedals.
The owner stated that after touchdown, the gyrocopter began to drift right. The pilot attempted to correct the drift by depressing the left rudder pedal. However, the pilot accidentally depressed the owner's right rudder pedal, rather than his own left rudder pedal.
The reported wind at JYO, at 1424, was from 210 degrees at 4 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N540CX
- Reported as
- Harris BRC 540C
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 376
- Airframe hours
- 42
- Engine
- Subaru EJ 25, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William P. Harris
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 7, 2003 · 42 hours before
- Departed
- JYO · Leesburg, VA
- Destination
- JYO
- Airport
- JYO · Leesburg Executive Airport, runway 17, 5,500 × 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 54
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- March 12, 2002
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 2,666 total · 8 in this make and model · 2,666 as pilot in command · 24 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 47
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- December 12, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 250 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- JYO
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.