- Date
- January 27, 1999, 17:20 local (22:20 UTC)
- Place
- Centre Hall, PA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N52910Grove AIR Command
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 18, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990127000789I
- Case key
- 45702
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 clearance from a power line. A factor was the sunglare.
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 gyroplane took off and flew around a witness's house. It then headed toward the northwest, and collided with a nearby power line. The pilot stated that the last thing he remembered was being blinded by the sun.
Factual narrative
On January 27, 1999, about 1720 Eastern Standard Time, a homebuilt Air Command gyroplane, N52910, was substantially damaged when it collided with a power line near Centre Airpark (N16), Centre Hall, Pennsylvania. The certificated private pilot was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
A witness stated that the gyroplane took off from the airpark and flew around the witness's house. It then headed toward the northwest, and collided with a nearby power line. The pilot stated that the last thing he remembered was being blinded by the sun.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, one of the gyroplane's landing gear was found in the vicinity of the power line, while the main wreckage was found about 100 feet to the north.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N52910
- Reported as
- Grove AIR Command (AIR COMMAN)
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- RIG1
- Airframe hours
- 320
- Engine
- Rotax 503, 48 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert I. Grove
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 17, 1998 · 14 hours before
- Departed
- N16
- Airport
- N16 · Centre Hall Airpark, runway 24, 3,100 × 150 ft, grass/turf
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
- 57
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 940 total · 940 as pilot in command · 13 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.