- Date
- September 18, 2005, 12:15 local (19:15 UTC)
- Place
- Bend, OR
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N4416NEiland RAF-200 Gyro
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 31, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20050918022549A
- Case key
- 62496
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 malfunction of the flight controls for an undetermined reason, which resulted in a loss of control and in-flight collision with terrain.
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
According to the pilot, during the initial takeoff climb from runway 34, he noticed that the "controls felt sluggish compared to normal precise feeling of the gyroplane." He decided to execute a 180 degree turn back to the taxiway parallel to the runway. As soon as he began a shallow turn to the right, the gyroplane entered "a very steep diving spiral turn," and the controls "seemed totally ineffective." The gyroplane continued to descend and turn until it impacted a road running perpendicular to the runway about 50 feet north of the departure end. The pilot reported that the "cause of control malfunction is uncertain."
Factual narrative
On September 18, 2005, about 1215 Pacific daylight time, an Eiland RAF-2000 Gyro amateur-built experimental gyroplane, N4416N, collided with terrain in an uncontrolled descent following a loss of control on takeoff from Bend Municipal Airport, Bend, Oregon. The gyroplane sustained substantial damage. The private pilot sustained minor injuries, and the passenger was not injured. The gyroplane was registered to and operated by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the 14 CFR Part 91 local personal flight, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
According to the pilot, during the initial takeoff climb from runway 34, he noticed that the "controls felt sluggish compared to normal precise feeling of the gyroplane." He decided to execute a 180 degree turn back to the taxiway parallel to the runway. As soon as he began a shallow turn to the right, the gyroplane entered "a very steep diving spiral turn," and the controls "seemed totally ineffective." The gyroplane continued to descend and turn until it impacted a road running perpendicular to the runway about 50 feet north of the departure end. The pilot reported that the "cause of control malfunction is uncertain."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4416N
- Reported as
- Eiland RAF-200 Gyro
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 001
- Engine
- Subaru 2.2 L EJ22, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Private Individual
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- S07 · Bend, OR
- Airport
- S07 · Bend Municipal Airport, runway 34
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 710 total · 260 in this make and model · 90 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.