- Date
- July 14, 2025, 10:15 local (16:15 UTC)
- Place
- Hurricane, UT · airport/runway
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N630JMRotorsport UK Rotorsport UK Cavalon
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 14, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20250714015709A
- Case key
- 200631
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 pitch control during takeoff, which resulted in an unintended liftoff from the runway and a subsequent loss of control.
Findings · 2
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 student pilot reported that during the takeoff ground roll on the runway, about 35 knots, the pilot moved the control stick slightly forward from the aft position and allowed the nose wheel to rise slightly above the surface, while he increased the throttle setting to 75%. As the gyroplane reached about 70 knots, it started to veer to the left and shudder, so the pilot slightly decreased the throttle setting. As the pilot approached the end of the runway, the pilot increased the throttle setting and maintained the control stick position. Subsequently, the gyroplane pitched up and rolled onto its right side. The gyroplane impacted the ground and slid to a stop on its right side within the runway safety area. The gyroplane sustained substantial damage to the drivetrain. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the gyroplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot added that during the takeoff, he should have held the aft position of the control stick to maintain the rotor RPM or aborted the takeoff earlier.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N630JM
- Reported as
- Rotorsport UK Rotorsport UK Cavalon
- Category
- Gyroplane
- Serial number
- RSUK-V00453
- Built
- 2020
- Airframe hours
- 293.28
- Engine
- Rotax MML-915 iSA, 141 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Cedar Creek Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 11, 2025 · 4.5 hours before
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 1L8 · General Dick Stout Fld, runway 19, 3,282 × 60 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, ADS-B, Onboard weather
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
- 75
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Sport pilot, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 12, 2025
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 295.13 total · 262.43 in this make and model · 295.13 as pilot in command · 6.08 in the last 90 days · 6.08 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 97 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.17 inHg
- Observed at
- KAZC, 18 nm away
- METAR
- KAZC 141735Z AUTO 27010G15KT 10SM CLR 36/00 A3017 RMK AO2
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 14, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.2 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.