Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Clearview Airpark Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Westminster, Maryland 21157
Tuesady, January 29, 2013 16:00 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the pilot of the gyroplane, he was practicing aborted takeoffs from a field that had power lines near the practice area and performing 180-degree turns to simulate a return to the runway. He successfully completed one practice maneuver, taking off to the south and making a 180-degree turn to the north. During the second practice maneuver, he took off to the north and began a 180-degree turn to the south. The pilot stated that, immediately after making the turn, the sun obscured his vision for several seconds. The gyroplane then struck a power line, and the pilot pushed the cyclic forward to land in the field. Subsequently, the gyroplane impacted the ground hard, which resulted in substantial damage to the airframe. At the time of the accident, the angle of the sun was low and directly in the flightpath during the turn. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the gyroplane that would have precluded normal operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Impact with power lines due to the pilot’s obscured vision due to the low angle of the sun, which prevented the pilot from seeing the lines.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 1/29/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1600 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Westminster |
| Event State | MARYLAND |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 21157 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 392701N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0770102W |
| Event Location Airport | Clearview Airpark |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 2W2 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 2 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 799 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | 1530 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 180 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KDMW |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 789 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 12 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 10000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 3000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 10 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 3 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 90 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.03 |
| 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 | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 31167 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Carrol County Sheriff's Depart |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 22 2013 4:34PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N393GX |
| NTSB Number | ERA13CA122 |
| 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 | AMIRKHANIAN SHAHRAM CHARL |
| Aircraft Model | COMMANDER |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | SCA001 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| 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 | Conditional |
| Date of Last Inspection | Aug 19 2012 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 209 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | AMIRKHANIAN SHAHRAM C |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | SILVER SPRING |
| Aircraft Owner State | MD |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 20910-4918 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | AMIRKHANIAN SHAHRAM C |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | SILVER SPRING |
| Operator State | MD |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 20910-4918 |
| 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 | 2W2 |
| Departure City | Westminster |
| Departure State | MD |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1530 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | 2W2 |
| Destination City | Westminster |
| Destination State | MD |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 22 2013 4:34PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |