Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Flying B Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Yelm, Washington 98597
Saturday, October 21, 2000 13:45 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot, who was aware that the engine on his gyroplane had not been producing the expected maximum full power, attempted a takeoff at an airstrip which had a marked power line just off the departure end of the runway. After liftoff, the aircraft climbed at a very shallow angle, and by the time it had proceeded more than 90 percent of the way down the runway, it had not climbed higher than the subject obstacle. Instead of aborting the takeoff, the pilot tried to increase the aircraft's angle of climb. As the gyroplane neared the end of the runway, it seemed to the pilot that its power output was decreasing, and he became convinced that he might not be able to clear the power line. He therefore attempted to fly under the marked line, but impacted an unmarked line strung lower on the poles.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to abort the takeoff when it became questionable as to whether the aircraft would be able to clear an object just off the departure end of the runway, and the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the object as he attempted to continue the departure. Factors include operating with a known engine deficiency, and a power line strung just off the departure end of the runway.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/21/2000 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1345 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | YELM |
| Event State | WASHINGTON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 98597 |
| Event Date Year | 2000 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | FLYING B |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 8WA0 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 310 |
| Airport Elevation | 445 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | 0 |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 0 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 3000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 20 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 16 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 270 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1021 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 21 2000 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1400 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 2 2001 3:12PM |
| User who most recently changed record | MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8331H |
| NTSB Number | SEA01LA009 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Hallett |
| Aircraft Model | HALLETT-1 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | HALLETT-1 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 101 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 649 |
| Aircraft Category | Gyrocraft |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 1 2000 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 6 |
| Airframe Hours | 10 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | THOMAS E. HALLETT |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 5417 COLLINS RD. E |
| Aircraft Owner City | PORT ORCHARD |
| Aircraft Owner State | WA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 98366 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | 8WA0 |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1345 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 2 2001 4:09AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 31 |
| Runway Length | 2200 |
| Runway Width | 60 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |