Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Private Airstrip Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Jackson, Michigan 49201
Friday, July 15, 2011 10:45 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The witness, who was also the owner, builder, and designer of the gyroplane, reported that the gyroplane did a “mild jumpstart,” climbed to about 200 feet above ground level (agl), and was traveling about 20 to 25 mph when the wind changed to the opposite direction. The nose of the gyroplane pitched up, the airspeed dropped to about 5 mph, and the gyroplane yawed to the right about 80 degrees, pitched down, and yawed to the left. The witness reported that the pilot pulled up on the collective. The main rotor blades “started flapping,” and the gyroplane plunged to the ground from about 30 feet agl. It impacted the ground in about a 20-degree-nose-down and 10-degree-left-roll attitude. The witness reported that ballast was not placed in the front seat for the flight, which moved the center or gravity (CG) aft; however, the previous takeoff had been successful. The witness expressed his belief that the slower than normal takeoff speed, the wind reversal, and the aft CG were factors in the accident. He reported that there was no mechanical malfunction or failure of the gyroplane. The examination of the gyroplane revealed no preexisting anomalies to the engine or airframe. The reported surface wind about 10 miles from the accident site was variable at 5 knots.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot did not maintain adequate airspeed during the initial climb, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/15/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1045 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Jackson |
| Event State | MICHIGAN |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 49201 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 421051N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0841631W |
| Event Location Airport | Private Airstrip |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1056 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 300 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | JXN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1001 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 10 |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 24 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 16 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.06 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KJXN 151356Z 00000KT 10SM CLR 23/17 A3007 KJXN 15 |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 29781 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-AGL-ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 27 2012 11:57AM |
| User who most recently changed record | silj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N122DG |
| NTSB Number | CEN11LA481 |
| 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 | Degraw |
| Aircraft Model | Rhino II |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | RDX 107 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1200 |
| 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 | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 4 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 29.5 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Degraw Richard R Trustee |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | On File |
| Aircraft Owner City | Jackson |
| Aircraft Owner State | MI |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 49201 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Degraw Richard R Trustee |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | On File |
| Operator City | Jackson |
| Operator State | MI |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 49201 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | -- |
| Departure City | Jackson |
| Departure State | MI |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1045 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Jackson |
| Destination State | MI |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 26 2012 12:55PM |
| User who most recently changed record | silj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 33 |
| Runway Length | 1900 |
| Runway Width | 45 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |