Fatal - AutoGyro MTOSport D-MTMZ, near Hildesheim airfield, Germany 21 JUL 2021

[TyroGyro]

Accident AutoGyro MTOSport D-MTMZ, 21 Jul 2021

As part of the training to obtain the license for gyroplane pilots, a training flight was planned at the Hildesheim Airfield. At approximately 11:00, the student pilot and his instructor ...

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"When a so-called gyrocopter crashed on Wednesday in Hildesheim, two men died. The accident apparently occurred because parts of the aircraft had come loose in the air.​

​

A police spokesman said the gyroplane was just about to land at Hildesheim airfield. According to the latest findings, individual parts are said to have dissolved in the air... The gyroplane fell from a height of about 50 meters about 400 meters from the airport near a logistics center. The gyrocopter "fell like a stone from the sky," said witnesses. The emergency services found a 60-year-old from Hildesheim and a 53-year-old from Oldendorf in the Stade district in the rubble. Both were dead. There were no injuries or other damage on the ground, said the police spokesman."​

The deceased instructor was Germany's first gyrocopter instructor, and had 15,000 hours.

Tragschrauber, Ultraleicht-Flugzeug, Rundflüge | UL-Flugschule in Hildesheim

Die Ultraleicht Flugschule in Hildesheim bietet Rundflüge im Tragschrauber oder der Shark an – und außerdem noch die Ausbildung zum Piloten!

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One rotor blade appears to be missing at the crash scene. And now reports say that the engine departed, and was found on a roof...

Sincere condolences to all affected by this terrible tragedy.

 

[Brian Jackson]

Oh man, I am so sorry to learn of this, and for their families. The description of the event is frightening and odd. I will be waiting to learn the point of failure. Pieces fall off during a tail strike but I didn't read about any sound being heard.

 

[Gyro_Kai]

From the Autogyro-Europe Facebook channel:

Sadly, on Wednesday this week, we lost two gyroplane friends.
One of those was Thomas Kiggen, one of the founding fathers of AutoGyro. Thomas is the ‘T’ of the MT-03 and MTOsport gyroplanes, and his support of this project helped turn these aircraft into the world bestseller they became. Flying was his lifetime passion.
Thomas worked with us from 2004 on joint gyroplane projects. His unparalleled flight and instructional skills gained over maybe 40,000 flight hours taught hundreds- maybe thousands - of new pilots their craft in gyroplanes, flex-wing, and fixed-wing aircraft. He was a true aviation pioneer in the German UL market.
Thomas was both a personal friend and a business partner to us, and to aviation in general, and will be sorely missed.
As a footnote, our natural collective urge is to speculate a cause to this tragedy. Fortunately, the investigation is independently managed by the experts from the German Bfu, and we keenly await their factual analysis.
Our heartfelt condolences go to their families and friends.

 

[Resasi]

Always sad when we lose fellow aviators/gyronauts.

Sincere condolences to families and friends.

 

[Abid]

Such sad news. My deepest condolences. 40,000 hours. Wow. I knew about Thomas and AutoGyro's other founders because they were also involved in trikes before they jumped into gyroplanes. Its sad to lose a fellow airman

 

[Martin W.]

For an engine to depart suggests a missing prop blade which would cause a massive imbalance and rip out the motor mounts ...... but was that the cause .... or was it the result of something else failing and hitting the prop.. ??

 

[Abid]

For an engine to depart suggests a missing prop blade which would cause a massive imbalance and rip out the motor mounts ...... but was that the cause .... or was it the result of something else failing and hitting the prop.. ??

Engine came off? But before that happens the huge vibration develops and at that point, the pilot should shut off the engine. There was a pilot here with Ivo prop on a 912UL on a Skyranger airplane who on downwind lost the whole prop. It came off because it was not torqued right which he blamed on someone sabotaging his aircraft which I believe was BS. He just did not know what he was doing and did not install it right in the first place. But anyway, he was able to land ok

 

[GyroRon]

engine is missing in that photo above and sure looks like one half of the rotor is gone. Wonder if something went wrong where the engine got loose and went up into the rotor, shearing it in half

 

[JETLAG03]

I lost a prop blade on take off just left the ground, the vibes were horrible but managed to shut down engine (BMW K1200RS) before further damage and land safely (gyrocopter).

 

[okikuma]

My deepest condolences for the family and friends of this fatal crash.

Wayne

 

[Martin W.]

Cessna lost outer third of one prop blade .... shake was so violent pilot could not see his panel and had to feel with his hand to locate mag switch .... took him about 5 seconds.

Uneventful landing on smooth grass prairie .... upon exit pilot saw 3 dynafocal engine mounts completely ripped out ..... 4th mount barely holding ..... control cables and wiring harness kept the engine from falling right off.

 

[TyroGyro]

It is possible [difficult to tell from photos of D-MTMZ] that there were no mag switches in the back, available to the Instructor, on this machine.

 

[Brian P]

Looks like one blade has completely pulled out.

 

[wolfy]

Cessna lost outer third of one prop blade .... shake was so violent pilot could not see his panel and had to feel with his hand to locate mag switch .... took him about 5 seconds.

Uneventful landing on smooth grass prairie .... upon exit pilot saw 3 dynafocal engine mounts completely ripped out ..... 4th mount barely holding ..... control cables and wiring harness kept the engine from falling right off.

Yep I lost about only 3" of one blade once and the shake was severe,
Hate to imagine what it would be like loosing a whole blade and trying to get the engine shut down before it ripped itself out, all while hanging on for dear life and shittin yourself. Easier said than done.

wolfy

 

[Resasi]

Since there appears to be little damage to the tail, would go with Ron on a prop/engine departure/rotor damage causing this sad event.

 

[okikuma]

Over the years, I have personally know several pilots that have lost a bolt on propeller blade from a propeller hub during flight. In comparison with completely manufactured propeller from one solid piece of material (wood, metal, or composite), I do not know or have met one that has lost a blade. Yes, I know it has happen, however the percentage is quite minuscule as compared to bolt on propeller blades to a hub.

Craig Catto manufactures excellent two and tree blade propellers. Outside of Vance Breese, I cannot think of any other gyroplane that swings a Catto prop. Perhaps more should consider the change.

Wayne

CATTO Propellers | Speed | Altitude | STOL | Performance

www.cattoprops.com

 

[Abid]

Over the years, I have personally know several pilots that have lost a bolt on propeller blade from a propeller hub during flight. In comparison with completely manufactured propeller from one solid piece of material (wood, metal, or composite), I do not know or have met one that has lost a blade. Yes, I know it has happen, however the percentage is quite minuscule as compared to bolt on propeller blades to a hub.

Craig Catto manufactures excellent two and tree blade propellers. Outside of Vance Breese, I cannot think of any other gyroplane that swings a Catto prop. Perhaps more should consider the change.

Wayne

CATTO Propellers | Speed | Altitude | STOL | Performance

www.cattoprops.com

There is absolutely no reason a properly installed propeller blade will come out of the hub. The testing done for checking the clamping strength of the blades into the hub in Part 23 as well as in ASTM standard is way beyond what the propeller will ever see. However, no one can protect a user from themselves. If they over or under torque bolts, don't setup the pitch the same before torque, don't safety wire properly, use the same nylocks over and over again, don't use nordloc washers properly if applicable. All these things create potential failure points. Of course in this case it may be also delamination of the prop blades as well from a bird or FOD strike or from defect
BTW, I have heard of a few 2 blade wood props coming off just the same. No more, no less. Wood expands and contracts with change in heat and humidity and you have to maintain torque much more frequently. When they don't, out goes the prop

 

[knussear]

It is possible [difficult to tell from photos of D-MTMZ] that there were no mag switches in the back, available to the Instructor, on this machine.

Seems unlikely - I fly the same machine - and have seen many like it. I have never seen one without rear mag switches.

 

[TyroGyro]

There was an accident in France in 2019 in an ELA-07. A student, solo in the circuit, lost control and fatally crashed.

Unresolved, although it seems propeller-loss was not ruled out.

"An engine propeller blade was not found at the accident site. Due to the fire damage to the propeller, it could not be determined whether this blade was completely destroyed by the fire or had separated in flight..."​

​

https://bea.aero/fileadmin/user_upload/BEA2019-0624.en.pdf

 

[TyroGyro]

Seems unlikely - I fly the same machine - and have seen many like it. I have never seen one without rear mag switches.

Hmmm.

There are many configurations of this aircraft type.