- Date
- January 27, 2008, 07:20 local (12:20 UTC)
- Place
- Leonardtown, MD
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N6592HJames Dayton Pit Bull JD-3
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 30, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20080127011239A
- Case key
- 67458
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 improper flare during the landing.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot was "crow hopping" down the runway in the amateur-built Pit Bull JD-3 gyrocopter, practicing landings and takeoffs. During one of the landings, he did not control the rate of descent, and the gyrocopter "settled" hard on the runway. After contacting the ground, the left main landing gear collapsed and the gyrocopter rolled onto its left side, substantially damaging the fuselage. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies with the gyrocopter. Additionally, he reported 2 hours of flight experience in a similar gyrocopter, 8 months prior to the accident. The pilot did not hold a rotorcraft-gyroplane rating.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated he was "crow hopping" down the runway in the amateur-built Pit Bull JD-3 gyrocopter, practicing landing and taking off. During one of the landings, he did not control the rate of descent, and the gyrocopter "settled" hard on the runway. During the impact, the left main landing gear collapsed and the gyrocopter rolled onto its left side, substantially damaging the fuselage. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies with the gyrocopter. Additionally, he reported 2 hours of flight experience in a similar gyrocopter, 8 months prior to the accident. The pilot did not hold a rotorcraft-gyroplane rating.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6592H
- Reported as
- James Dayton Pit Bull JD-3
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1
- Airframe hours
- 0
- Engine
- Subaru EA81, 108 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight test · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James Dayton
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- 2W6 · Leonardtown, MD
- Destination
- 2W6 · Leonardtown, MD
- Airport
- 2W6 · St. Mary's County Regional, runway 11, 4,150 × 75 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
- 51
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 1, 2006
- Flight hours
- 750 total · 2 in this make and model · 650 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- NHK, 8 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.