Blue Ash Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Cincinnati, Ohio 45201
Sunday, August 7, 2005 14:55 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Shortly after takeoff, about three-quarters down the runway and at an altitude of 50 feet, the gyrocopter's engine surged, then experienced a "partial, but significant loss of power." The pilot reduced the power to idle and attempted to land on the remaining runway. He flared too high, the main landing gear hit the runway "hard," and the gyrocopter's nose pitched down, collapsing the nose wheel and shearing it off. The gyrocopter then rolled about 90 degrees onto its right side, and skidded to a stop just before reaching the end of the runway. The gyrocopter was powered by a non-certified engine, and the reason for the partial loss of engine power was not determined. The pilot reported a total of 76 hours of flight time, of which, 72 hours were in gyrocopters.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper flare following a partial loss of engine power, which resulted in a hard landing. A factor was the partial loss of engine power for unknown reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/7/2005
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1455
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Cincinnati
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 45201
Event Date Year 2005
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 391448N
Event Location Longitude 0842320W
Event Location Airport Blue Ash Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID ISZ
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 856
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 130
Weather Observation Facility ID LUK
Elevation of weather observation facility 856
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 6
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 23
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 50
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.1
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 19530
NTSB Notification Source GLROC
NTSB Notification Date Aug 8 2005 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 25 2006 11:00AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Cincinnati

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2416P
NTSB Number IAD05LA116
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name O'Connor
Aircraft Model Air Command Elite
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number AC2SBST0
Certified Max Gross Weight 1630
Aircraft Category Gyrocraft
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? Yes
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 1 2005 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 48
Airframe Hours 48
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Timmothy O'Connor
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Cincinnati
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 45243
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 ISZ
Departure City Cincinnati
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EDT
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 Emergency landing after takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 10 2006 12:52PM
User who most recently changed record MUZD
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 24
Runway Length 3499
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --