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

Terrible, ideed.
The autogyro was optically in a neat condition. The high number of operating hours could not be seen from the seat cushions, the joysticks or any other traces.

It seems they took care to make sure it looked good, cosmetically, but yet never took a look at the most important components...

The affected autogyro had a comparatively high total operating time. Due to the permanent use as a training device, it is very likely that an exceptionally high number of take-offs and landings, with corresponding speed changes in the rotor system, were carried out.
Due to the unladen weight of the autogyro and the masses of the occupants, it was constantly operated above the maximum permissible operating mass during training...
It was only possible to find out that the operating hours counter had been changed and that the actual total operating time was approx. 3,940 hours by looking at old on-board documents from before 2018. The operating hour counter in the cockpit and the operating time noted in the onboard documents
gave a student pilot a completely wrong impression of the total operating time of the gyroplane, the age and the wear and tear of the components.

The poor student had no idea he was getting into a deathtrap.

Pick your engineer wisely. I have met some who simply should not be anywhere near an aircraft, especially YOUR aircraft.

A full-blown psychiatric case, in one instance, on medication, unable to sleep, haunted forever by terrible things he had done in another life, in a war on another continent... The killing of children, to be exact.

When he told me his guns had been taken off him by the Police, because his medication was on the prohibited list, I knew it was time to depart...

Threats to my aircraft, to throw it off the airfield in the pouring rain and leave it on the highway - or tow it without my permission and dump it at another random airfield. Attempted extortion. And a literal tug-of-war going on over my aircraft, while I am sitting, helpless, over 60 miles away...

I have seen it all. People who should be nowhere near aviation, but who still are, and working on others' aircraft.
 
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Its a personal view but I think this accident report should raise a lot of questions in the UK and other territories that follow the UK process.

First of all the German authorities are now happy to claim the rotors are prone to cracking that seems to reference the Cranfield report on MT-03 blade integrity. My point being that perhaps the increased inspection regime required now could have been demanded earlier.

Secondly the MTOW of 450kgs is suggested that the aircraft was being flown overweight to the detriment to the integrity of the aircraft. In the UK the MTOW is 500kgs and yet the rotor life is the same. Why?
 
Any AG flying with 4,000 hour rotor blades is indeed a "deathtrap" as Tyger accused. I now question the replacement of that gyro's hourly meter as possibly more fraudulent vs. maintenance, i.e., a facelift on a dowager to fool young suitors.

Any institution tends to be a lengthened shadow of its founders or current dynamic leaders. The particular flippancy of Thomas Kiggen, one of the three founders, in not regularly removing his rotor blades for required inspections (with falsified maintenance records, no doubt), as well as apparently not attaching his safety belt illuminates the corporate arrogance of AG in general as the "market leader." If Kiggen so grotesquely cut safety corners on his own gyro, what does that betoken for AG in general?

Oh, and where is AG's "university study" on their Rotor System II's alleged 2,500 hour service life? I wonder if it ever existed at all.
 
Any AG flying with 4,000 hour rotor blades is indeed a "deathtrap" as Tyger accused. I now question the replacement of that gyro's hourly meter as possibly more fraudulent vs. maintenance, i.e., a facelift on a dowager to fool young suitors.

Any institution tends to be a lengthened shadow of its founders or current dynamic leaders. The particular flippancy of Thomas Kiggen, one of the three founders, in not regularly removing his rotor blades for required inspections (with falsified maintenance records, no doubt), as well as apparently not attaching his safety belt illuminates the corporate arrogance of AG in general as the "market leader." If Kiggen so grotesquely cut safety corners on his own gyro, what does that betoken for AG in general?

Oh, and where is AG's "university study" on their Rotor System II's alleged 2,500 hour service life? I wonder if it ever existed at all.
AAIB current reports

You'll note that the investigation to G-CKYT from Nov 2020 is still under investigation and it would seem to me that the branch will be unlikely to be oblivious to these questions and indeed safety recommendations may well form part of the final report. In the UK the investigation due process includes a "consultation" period which is where affected parties have the opportunity to push back and for manufacturers commercial interest plays a part. The shambles around the EC225 in the North Sea is a nod to how that works for anyone interested.
 
Final report on D-MTMZ issued by DULV:


Conclusions
The accident was due to the tearing off of a rotor blade in flight.
Causes were:
o A rotor blade design with a material that is prone to cracking and requires periodic inspections.
o Failure to follow manufacturer recommendations for periodic inspections of the rotor blades and hub.
o Disregard of manufacturer's recommendations regarding the service life limitation of the rotor blades
o Disregard of specifications regarding the documentation of component operating times
o Insufficient inspection of the gyroplane, its maintenance and operating time recording within the scope of the annual inspections
 
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4000 hours almost on original engine and original rotor blades. Listed life of engine before overhaul by Rotax 2000 hours and listed life for rotor blades 2500 hours by AG Gmbh. Well, I don't know. Seems like the guy may have done a ton of training and made a ton of money from that little machine but why he did not spend a few thousand to get a new set of rotors while being at the airport where factory is? I cannot say. People do some strange stuff.
 
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This should be a worry to anyone with skin in the AG game.

Here was an aircraft operating from the "home" airfield with a person likely well known to all at the company. Whilst one can be sure the accident instructor is responsible for his accident along the way why did nobody put an arm on the shoulder to ask "why don't we ever sell you any spare parts in x years?".... nor do they ever see it stripped with spare parts being fitted from anyone else! Worse for others is the 450kg operating limit meaning [according to the BFU] it was flown out of limits and again nobody has a word. It is also interesting to understand that limit verse the higher limits accepted in other territories. A sad end, especially for the innocent student, but for me it presents a lot of questions around the attitude and environment within the wider community there.
 
This should be a worry to anyone with skin in the AG game.

Here was an aircraft operating from the "home" airfield with a person likely well known to all at the company. Whilst one can be sure the accident instructor is responsible for his accident along the way why did nobody put an arm on the shoulder to ask "why don't we ever sell you any spare parts in x years?".... nor do they ever see it stripped with spare parts being fitted from anyone else! Worse for others is the 450kg operating limit meaning [according to the BFU] it was flown out of limits and again nobody has a word. It is also interesting to understand that limit verse the higher limits accepted in other territories. A sad end, especially for the innocent student, but for me it presents a lot of questions around the attitude and environment within the wider community there.

There are people associated with businesses at first that fall out and develop their own agendas. It happens. Do not ever underestimate the egos and arrogance of people involved. I believe this instructor may have been involved as a founding member of original company and later sold out. We have to read between the lines and understand there is a lot there that may have stopped the factory from putting a arm around his shoulder and ask why don't we ever sell you major parts in all these hours of hard training.
And yes that gyro was almost flown out of 450 kg limits pretty much all the time in training. That student was 266 pounds. That is reaching the limit if not already past the limit of a single seat of most light sport aircraft in existence gyroplanes or not.
 
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4000 ore quasi con motore originale e pale del rotore originali. Durata dichiarata del motore prima della revisione da parte di Rotax 2000 ore e durata dichiarata delle pale del rotore 2500 ore da parte di AG Gmbh. Beh, non lo so. Sembra che il ragazzo abbia fatto un sacco di formazione e abbia guadagnato un sacco di soldi con quella piccola macchina, ma perché non ha speso qualche migliaio per ottenere un nuovo set di rotori mentre si trovava all'aeroporto dove si trova la fabbrica? Non posso dire. Le persone fanno cose strane.
BWell 2500 hours the life of an aluminum rotor I would REALLY like to see them!! Also because SUCH A TBO MAKES NO SENSE!!!!
 
266 pounds (121 kg) is *just* within the limit for any of the seats. Which is 125 kg each.
But with a MTOW of 450 kg and an official dry weight of 261 kg left 64 kg for Thomas Kiggen and fuel...
Thomas Kiggen was a small guy at 67 kg. So already -3 kg without fuel. Fat ultralights is not only a US problem...
It happens very often with two onboard, when the UL limit is 450 or 472kg.
If I would exchange my undercarriage bow to a new, I could have a limit of 500 kg - but it's too bloody expensive.
We all know Kiggen cheated and used the rotor way past its service life and the one testing it (bi-?) annually never checked it...
 
BWell 2500 hours the life of an aluminum rotor I would REALLY like to see them!! Also because SUCH A TBO MAKES NO SENSE!!!!

Metal blades can be built to serve much longer. My Bell 47 main blades have a service life of 5000 hours, but a pair of them costs more than a complete new factory 2-place gyro, so there are many reasons why such longevity is not typically seen in gyro blades
 
Le lame metalliche possono essere costruite per durare molto più a lungo. Le pale principali del mio Bell 47 hanno una durata di 5000 ore, ma un paio di esse costa più di un giroscopio a 2 posti completamente nuovo di fabbrica, quindi ci sono molte ragioni per cui tale longevità non è tipicamente riscontrabile nelle pale del giroscopio
ILIn fact I would like to see them after 2500 hours of flight, perhaps for school use! Or worse!!🤔
 
Metal blades can be built to serve much longer. My Bell 47 main blades have a service life of 5000 hours, but a pair of them costs more than a complete new factory 2-place gyro, so there are many reasons why such longevity is not typically seen in gyro blades
Aren't the one's in question extruded?
I have issues with extruded rotor blades.... I think they would be ok with a limited life span, but would expect it to be around 30% of a built up AL, or composite blade.....
 
In my experience the service life of a gyroplane rotor blade depends on many things.

I have seen extruded blades I would not fly and I have seen extruded blades that are high quality and have a long expected service life.

I have seen composite blades that I would not fly and composite blades that appear to me to be very high quality.

My RAF blades cracked on the trailing edge with 167 hours on them.

I have seen fabricated aluminum blades fail with very few hours on them and I have put over 1,400 hours on fabricated aluminum Sport Rotors.

I feel it is a mistake to imagine all blades of a particular construction are the same.
 
Nella mia esperienza, la durata della pala del rotore di un autogiro dipende da molte cose.

Ho visto lame estruse che non volerei e ho visto lame estruse di alta qualità e con una lunga durata prevista.

Ho visto lame composite che non volerei e lame composite che mi sembrano di altissima qualità.

Le mie pale della RAF si sono incrinate sul bordo d'uscita con 167 ore su di esse.

Ho visto pale in alluminio fabbricate guastarsi dopo pochissime ore e ho impiegato oltre 1.400 ore su rotori sportivi in alluminio fabbricato.

Ritengo che sia un errore immaginare che tutte le pale di una particolare costruzione siano uguali.
AAbsolutely agree👍 but giving a life to 2500h aluminum extrusions really seems too much to me!! In my opinion!!🤔
 
4000 hours almost on original engine and original rotor blades. Listed life of engine before overhaul by Rotax 2000 hours and listed life for rotor blades 2500 hours by AG Gmbh. Well, I don't know. Seems like the guy may have done a ton of training and made a ton of money from that little machine but why he did not spend a few thousand to get a new set of rotors while being at the airport where factory is? I cannot say. People do some strange stuff.
AutoGyro Arrogance, personified. They truly believe that they are the Mercedes-Benz of gyros.

Their hub bar design (with "doubler" plate) and hollow/unsupported extruded blades is a bad joke. Now on version #3.
 
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AutoGyro Arrogance, personified. They truly believe that they are the Mercedes-Benz of gyros.

Their hub bar design (with "doubler" plate) and hollow/unsupported extruded blades is a bad joke. Now on version #3.

I do not understand. Again I have no love lost against AG but are you saying that this accident is the fault of their blades when the blades were at 4000 hours while the life limit is 2500 hours? How? Explain your logic please.
 
I do not understand. Again I have no love lost against AG but are you saying that this accident is the fault of their blades when the blades were at 4000 hours while the life limit is 2500 hours? How? Explain your logic please.
No, I am not saying that. While it amazes me that Kiggen's rotor set lasted 3940 hours, I wouldn't have faith in them for even 2500 hours. (D-MDOZ's failed at 333 hours.)

Occasionally, a chain-smoking alcoholic will live into his 90s, but that doesn't betoken a healthy lifestyle worth emulating. He was just lucky.
So was Kiggen for <3940 hours with his rotor.

My point is that AG is essentially blind to their own engineering/material shortcomings. It's a common Teutonic malady, especially during commercial success. I think that Glock is still boasting of "Glock Perfection" when other handgun manufacturers have refined the polymer frame design (changeable back-straps, drop-free magazines, etc.), which Glock subsequently copied.

AG originally blamed their Rotor System 1 failures on the pilots. The Canfield Study proved that fallacious, and only under CAA pressure did AG condescend to try to improve their rotor.

Kiggen's crash, at the heart of things, was due to his arrogance. AG can do no wrong; it's the market leader, German engineering, etc. I am attempting to describe a syndrome, which umbrellas many mechanical points. For example, had the Cavalon used split-pinned AN-5 bolts in the cockpit control linkage, they may not have lost their USA COO in 2018. Has AG learned anything from that? No. They're still using metric zinc-plated common bolts. Magni avoided such folly, as have you at Silverlight (Bravo!).

AG is essentially blind to their own engineering/material shortcomings. Worse still, they're haughty.
 
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I don’t really understand the life limit calc and for several reasons. First of all the study that was done on similar blade’s concluded life was influenced by cycle’s which correspond to loading either by becoming airborne/landing or fretting from taxiing more aggressively on bumpy surfaces- i.e grass runway. However (and not sure what still exists) if the 100hr checking of rotor bolts remains then no doubt there becomes a check of the blade at the same time, so really these things effectively run on condition in that case.
 
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