- Date
- March 23, 2026, 12:39 local (18:39 UTC)
- Place
- Fairfield, UT · Western Desert Airpark - UT9
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N247WRSalt Lake Gyrocopters Calidus
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 25, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA Salt Lake FSDO
- FAA report
- 20260323006949A
- Case key
- 202690
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 directional control during the landing roll. Contributing to the accident was nose wheel misalignment at touchdown.
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 pilot reported that while conducting touch-and-go landings in the traffic pattern, the gyrocopter touched down on the main landing gear. When the nose wheel contacted the runway, the gyrocopter swerved abruptly and began bouncing left-to-right, then rolled over, resulting in substantial damage to the empennage and main rotor system. The pilot could not recall the airspeed when the nose wheel made contact. He further stated that the nose wheel may not have been aligned with the direction of travel at touchdown, which could result in an abrupt loss of control. The pilot added that the nose wheel steering was connected to the pedals and rudder system and that both systems were functioning normally prior to the accident. The pilot reported no pre-accident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the gyrocopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N247WR
- Reported as
- Salt Lake Gyrocopters Calidus
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- C000559
- Built
- 2024
- Airframe hours
- 168.2
- Engine
- Rotax 915iS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Blackbird Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 24, 2026 · 43 hours before
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- UT9 · West Desert Airpark, runway 17, 5,200 × 60 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Electronic primary flight display
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
- 43
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Sport Pilot
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Last flight review
- January 30, 2026
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 139 total · 49 in this make and model · 84 as pilot in command · 75 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- KPVU, 17 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KPVU 231756Z 00000KT 10SM FEW110 14/06 A3007 RMK AO2 SLP155 6//// T01390056 10139 20106 58001 PNO $
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 25, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.5 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.