- Date
- November 21, 2004, 15:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Chatham, MA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N9327BVigneau RAF 2000 GTX
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 24, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Boston, MA
- FAA report
- 20041121029869A
- Case key
- 60593
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 a takeoff. A factor related to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in gyroplanes.
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 had just completed 20 hours of dual instruction in the gyroplane, and was signed off by his instructor to conduct solo operations. After successfully completing his second solo landing, the pilot allowed the gyroplane to roll out on the runway, and before coming to a stop, applied power to take off again. The gyroplane suddenly veered to the left and rolled over. The pilot added that he forgot to come to a complete stop in the gyroplane, from habit of flying fixed-wing airplanes for 16 years, and that "you must first come to a complete stop," before taking off after a landing.
Factual narrative
On November 21, 2004, at 1530 eastern standard time, a homebuilt RAF-2000 GTX SE Gyroplane, N9327B, was substantially damaged while departing from the Chatham Municipal Airport (CQX), Chatham, Massachusetts. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the pilot, he had just completed 20 hours of dual instruction in the gyroplane, and was signed off by his instructor to conduct solo operations.
After successfully completing his second solo landing, the pilot allowed the gyroplane to roll out on the runway, and before coming to a stop, applied power to take off again. The gyroplane suddenly veered to the left and rolled over.
The pilot added that he forgot to come to a complete stop in the gyroplane, from habit of flying fixed-wing airplanes for 16 years, and that "you must first come to a complete stop," before taking off after a landing.
The winds observed by the pilot, at the time of the accident, were calm.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9327B
- Reported as
- Vigneau RAF 2000 GTX
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- H2-03-14-593
- Airframe hours
- 54
- Engine
- Subaru EJ-22, 130 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- John S. Vigneau
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 2004 · 33 hours before
- Departed
- CQX · Chatham, MA
- Airport
- CQX · Chatham Municipal Airport, runway 06, 3,001 × 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
- 39
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- September 6, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 500 total · 21 in this make and model · 390 as pilot in command · 13 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.