ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 200018
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| Date: | Thursday 28 September 2017 |
| Time: | 11:22 |
| Type: | Hickox Andys Autogyro |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N152AH |
| MSN: | H2-97-8-279 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2008 |
| Engine model: | Subaru 2.2 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Lake County, Umatilla, FL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Zellwood, FL (X61) |
| Zellwood, FL (X61) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The private pilot, who was endorsed for solo flight in the experimental, amateur-built gyroplane, was conducting a personal flight. About 1 1/2 hours after takeoff, a witness saw the gyroplane flying about 50 to 60 ft above ground level then heard two "bang" or "pop" sounds. The engine then lost all power and a section of one main rotor blade separated about the same time. The gyroplane entered an uncontrolled descent and impacted a wooded area. Components of the gyroplane consisting of the vertical stabilizer and rudder, which exhibited evidence of contact by the main rotor, and pieces of foam and propeller blade fragments were located along the energy path. Postaccident examination of the gyroplane revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction of the flight controls for the main rotor, while examination of the engine revealed that the electrical connection from the coil of the crank triggered ignition, which did not have a secondary locking device, was disconnected; this would have resulted in the loss of engine power. The investigation could not determine if any prior maintenance was performed on the gyroplane which would have resulted in disconnecting and reconnecting the crank triggered electrical connection.
Although the pilot's control response following the loss of engine power could not be determined, main rotor contact with the vertical stabilizer/rudder is consistent with either an unloading of the main rotor blades, or an overcorrection (excessive control input) following the loss of engine power.
While toxicology testing indicated that the pilot had used diphenhydramine at some time before the accident, the blood level of the potentially impairing medication could not be determined. Based on the circumstances of the accident, it is unlikely that the pilot's use of diphenhydramine contributed to the accident.
Probable Cause: The pilot's improper response to a total loss of engine power, which resulted in main rotor blade contact with the rudder and vertical stabilizer, and a subsequent uncontrolled descent. The loss of engine power was due to the separation of the electrical connector to the coil of the crank triggered ignition system.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/NNum_results.aspx?NNumbertxt=152AH
Location
Media:
Lake Co deputy controls access to crash scene. Exp gyro plane down near Umatilla a little before 12 pilot dead @wesh pic.twitter.com/cWiSUmDb9P
— Dave McDaniel (@WESHMcDaniel) 28 septembre 2017
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Sep-2017 19:42 | Geno | Added |
| 28-Sep-2017 22:33 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Aircraft type, Embed code] |
| 28-Sep-2017 22:35 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code, Narrative] |
| 30-Sep-2017 03:30 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 06-Jul-2019 19:37 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, Plane category, Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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