St. Mary's County Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Leonardtown, Maryland 20636
Sunday, January 27, 2008 7:20 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was "crow hopping" down the runway in the amateur-built Pit Bull JD-3 gyrocopter, practicing landings and takeoffs. During one of the landings, he did not control the rate of descent, and the gyrocopter "settled" hard on the runway. After contacting the ground, the left main landing gear collapsed and the gyrocopter rolled onto its left side, substantially damaging the fuselage. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies with the gyrocopter. Additionally, he reported 2 hours of flight experience in a similar gyrocopter, 8 months prior to the accident. The pilot did not hold a rotorcraft-gyroplane rating.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper flare during the landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/27/2008
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 720
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Leonardtown
Event State MARYLAND
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 20636
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 381855N
Event Location Longitude 0763300W
Event Location Airport St. Mary's County Regional
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 2W6
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 142
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 652 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID NHK
Elevation of weather observation facility 39
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 8
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 5000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 2
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 310
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.08
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23433
NTSB Notification Source FAA FSDO (Dulles)
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 30 2008 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6592H
NTSB Number NYC08CA093
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
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 James Dayton
Aircraft Model Pit Bull JD-3
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1
Certified Max Gross Weight 500
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 0
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name James Dayton
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Mechanicsville
Aircraft Owner State MD
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 20659
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) Flight Test
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code 2W6
Departure City Leonardtown
Departure State MD
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 2W6
Destination City Leonardtown
Destination State MD
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 6 2008 11:33AM
User who most recently changed record diad
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 11
Runway Length 4150
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --