FATAL - Nisus Aero Nisus OM-M199, Novot', Orava region, Slovakia 18 MAY 2023

Condolences to all affected by this sad event.

I know on good authority that Ferenc took off when it was raining and he headed towards mountains. It is likely he flew into IMC. In rain composite rotor blades with no leading edge protection would also be damaged in the leading edge by water and could deteriorate in performance.

Despite his many hours I was told by a mate who knows him well he had no IF exp? RiP
I have a pic of the cockpit of the gyro he was flying and the gyro ( before crash) it seems it was well appointed ? They are saying fog the morning of his flight?
My question to myself is how did such and exp gyro guy get into this situation ? What would make him want or need to fly that led him to take off in marginal conditions? Was his mindset ( speculation) that it’s ok because many of his recent hours flown were in the UAE where there are no mountains and fog burns off fast ? I just don’t get it very disturbing.

As far as the blades are concerned I doubt a few hours of water will ingress and be the cause of this accident ( I flew a m16 with composite blades for almost 900 hours) sometimes in really questionable Wx here in the Cape with little to no evidence of delaminating went on to sell it and it’s still flying with the same blades at over 2000 hours on the blades

My understanding is that the Nisus was due to be exhibited at a ultralight exhibition at Leszno Poland this weekend.

The first leg of this journey was an intermediatary stop at the airfield at Bielsko Biala in southern Poland.

A product promotional need to get to Leszno, to set up, to exhibit, to meet potential customers, promote and sell.

The percieved need to meet a fixed exhibition schedule likely influened the descision to fly and press on in less than ideal weather over very high ground.

Better to be late than never to arrive.

The observation has often been made that "a pilot who dies in bad weather is usually buried on a sunny day", suggesting that a fairly short wait can reward you with better conditions. If waiting wasn't possible, they needed a Plan B, such as being prepared to trailer the gyro to the event. Nobody would think less of them or of the machine for not crossing mountains in rain.

Steve_UK said:

The percieved need to meet a fixed exhibition schedule likely influened the descision to fly and press on in less than ideal weather over very high ground.

Better to be late than never to arrive.

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That last sentence is one that seems to be forgotten over and over in aviation, unfortunately.

I'll venture a guess that the journey would not have been attempted had the aircraft been open cockpit.

Tyger said:

I'll venture a guess that the journey would not have been attempted had the aircraft been open cockpit.

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Good assessment.
Jim

WaspAir said:

The observation has often been made that "a pilot who dies in bad weather is usually buried on a sunny day", suggesting that a fairly short wait can reward you with better conditions. If waiting wasn't possible, they needed a Plan B, such as being prepared to trailer the gyro to the event. Nobody would think less of them or of the machine for not crossing mountains in rain.

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If one has time to spare, fly by air. What is the compelling reason to fly today?

Wayne

So many people killed by got to get thereidus.

Once again

ADM...ADM...ADM...

Something that is often overlooked when trying to scud run (fly just below the clouds) is mountain obscuration where the mountains disappear into the bottom of the clouds.

If visibility is already restricted it can be difficult to recognize where mountains end with predictable results.

This kills pilots of all types of aircraft.

I am not suggesting that is what happened here; it has many of the earmarks of controlled flight into terrain.

Please think about the lesson this accident pilot has given us when temped to press on as the ceiling lowers or the terrain rises.

Land and wait for better weather.

That can be an adventure by itself.

Vance said:

Something that is often overlooked when trying to scud run (fly just below the clouds) is mountain obscuration where the mountains disappear into the bottom of the clouds.

If visibility is already restricted it can be difficult to recognize where mountains end with predictable results.

This kills pilots of all types of aircraft.

I am not suggesting that is what happened here; it has many of the earmarks of controlled flight into terrain.

Please think about the lesson this accident pilot has given us when temped to press on as the ceiling lowers or the terrain rises.

Land and wait for better weather.

That can be an adventure by itself.

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I read your comments with respect and appreciation….I still look on a map, the topography and am still able to read an altimeter ….how do we mess that up…..lost a mate who flew a Bonnie into a mountain..filed a Fp for 8000ft Msl yet the ridge was 9….brings us back to basics that so many just don’t have ? yet are comfortable that they are pilots….learning to fly is easy, knowing when not to can be more of a challenge
Again how did a so called highly experienced pilot not read the mountain height and understand his QNH? Without admitting it I’m sure there are many of us who have flown in the clag and basic instrument training brought us home ….again drives home that only the highly experienced pilots get killed …why ? Confidence maybe confidence a newbie does not have ?
CCC cameras, crowds, confidence ….in no particular order one of the biggest threats to GA

I am cautious about IMC because very early in my gyroplane flying adventures I was taking off at night toward the ocean and suddenly the lights of Santa Maria disappeared behind me. I made a quick 180 degree turn. Anyone who has made a quick 180 degree turn in a gyroplane knows that the compass is useless and without ground reference it was hard to know if I had been accurate. The lights of Santa Maria magically reappeared and I thought I had learned my lesson.

Not well enough to stop me from following the roads below a low cloud deck and heading down the wrong highway. I called Air Traffic Control for help when I saw my heading diverging from my charted course and they pointed me in a different direction before I flew into nearby class Charlie airspace.

I have found most pilots need to have these near death experiences before they are ready to turn around and wait.

When I am tempted I remember all the people who didn’t make it home from a nice flight to somewhere.

Just this morning I waited an hour to depart from Santa Ynez (IZA) where it was blue skies and unlimited visibility because the temperature/dew point spread at Santa Maria (SMX) was only one degree. My limit is four degrees before I will fly even if the field is visual flight rules.

Vance said:

I have found most pilots need to have these near death experiences before they are ready to turn around and wait.

When I am tempted I remember all the people who didn’t make it home from a nice flight to somewhere.

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I remember asking you "What is your compelling reason to fly today?" Do you remember that admonishment?

Jim

TyroGyro said:

Accident Nisus Aero Nisus OM-M199,

A Nisus Aero Nisus gyroplane went missing on flight from Topoľčany, Slovakia to Bielsko Biala, Poland. The sole person on the board was a Hungarian professional pilot. The wreck was fou...

aviation-safety.net

Condolences to all affected by this sad event.

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All the more sad because it was totally avoidable. My sincere condolences to his family and friends during this time of sadness and pain.

Wayne

From the Nisus-Aero post on Facebook:

Pete
Was it/weather really unexpected? I understand the need of the company to be wording things like that but you were there just a couple of days before. What do you think? Usually we always have clues that weather can go south on the flight before the flight.
It would be foolish not to expect thunderstorms in the afternoon flying to Oshkosh or Mentone in July from Florida. That's why you start the flight at 6:30 am and stop at 12:30 and wait till thunderstorms end before doing another leg or two. Trying to play with those t-storms would be playing dice with nature and would not be unexpected

Well, the weather in Slovakia in these days depends pretty much on the pressure system hanging over the region. In low pressure situation it is foggy and cloudy and could rain pretty much all day. But ones the low pressure system clears the weather is great, sunny and you may not see any clouds (or low clouds) for several days. Unfortunately, the weather was bad last week and nobody understands why he decided to fly over the mountains in those conditions.

Question here for IFR rated pilots (any aircraft types) who may have flown a gyro in IFR or even under a hood, what their thoughts were about differences between controlling a gyro vs fixed wing in such a situation. What are your thoughts about some gyro training under a hood?

WHY ????? would ANYONE want to fly a gyro in IFR anyway ...many(especially composite) rotors/props suffer when flying in rain with sizable drops!
A guy I knew in Australia flew in just 10 minutes of heavy (fat raindrops) as he was in visual with his airport and judged he could get there despite the rain shower! When he landed the leading edge of his Magni rotor looked like rats had chewed it!

Most of us have flown through the edge of light showers/ scattered fog & mist ...and got a bit of lightweight water on our machines ...but those of us with open machines/composite rotors ...are VERY leery of getting caught in REAL rain!

So hard to know a good experienced pilot STILL made such a crazy "get-there-itis " decision & paid the ultimate price!

AQP for GA #3 ...Intentional flight into IMC!