Abid
AR-1 gyro manufacturer
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2011
- Messages
- 6,257
- Location
- Tampa, FL
- Aircraft
- AR-1
- Total Flight Time
- 4000+ 560 gyroplanes. Sport CFI Gyro and Trikes. Pilot Airplane
I looked up the NTSB final report on the Hawley, Minnesota AR1 accident because your assessment did not align with my recollection Abid.
Location: Hawley, Minnesota Accident Number: CEN19FA218 Date & Time: July 11, 2019, 12:30 Local Registration: N14968 Aircraft: GIbb AR-1 Aircraft Damage: Destroyed Defining Event: Loss of control in flight Injuries: 1 Fatal Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation – Personal
Analysis The pilot of the gyroplane departed on a local personal flight in visual meteorological conditions at an unknown time. Several witnesses saw the gyroplane descending straight down and impacting the ground near the departure airport. All major components of the aircraft were located at the accident site. No preimpact anomalies were noted with the gyroplane. The pilot had built the gyroplane from a kit about a year before the accident. As best as could be determined from his flight records, the pilot had received about 36 hours of flight instruction in the gyroplane. Autopsy and toxicology testing of the pilot revealed no evidence of physiological impairment or incapacitation, and the reason for the gyroplane's descent and impact with terrain could not be determined.
Probable Cause and Findings The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be: An in-flight loss of control and collision with terrain for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.
Look at eye witness and Google plot captured in the docket. The eye witness that saw the gyro try to tighten up turn because he was overshooting the runway at fast speed. Google plot shows the overshot from alignment of runway. My speculation is he lost control at high speed trying to tighten up the turn and hit the ground at the same very high speed. The gyro burst into flames immediately as a result. The analog ASI was stuck at 110 mph. There is thread somewhere on this forum about it
MICHAEL HELM
Helm coming out of Hawley on Highway10, travelling westbound, when he saw the
helicopter flying southbound over the highway. The helicopter “veered” around to
travel north back towards the airport. He noted the helicopter was flying “very fast”.
When the helicopter turned, the rotors on the top of the helicopter looked as if they
were perpendicular to their original position., describing it as if they were “fan blades
that were facing him.” The helicopter disappeared behind a hill and he did not see
the crash.