Date:	Wednesday 3 May 2017
Time:	11:25 LT
Type:	AutoGyro Cavalon
Owner/operator:	Private
Registration:	none
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	Hirano, Shirataka town, Yamagata prefecture -   Japan
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Shirataka Aero Park, Shirataka town, Yamagata prefecture
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities

Narrative:
A gyrocopter crashed on a riverbed of Mogami river while flying a traffic pattern. The autogyro was consumed by a post-impact fire, and the fire spread over the grass for 4200 square meters. The sole occupant received fatal injury. The copter departed from a temporal operation site which is unofficially called Shirataka Aero Pakr, or Mutsumi Airfield, just located at the other side of Mogami river. The dead pilot was not a member of Shirataka Sky Sports Club, and he had taken no permission to use the airfield. Furthermore, the accident gyrocopter has no JR-xxxx registration numbers. Initial reports by eyewitness suggested that the cause of the accident was inflight main rotor separation, however, the investigation by JTSB revealed that the main rotor was probably broken by the impact with the ground, not inflight.

The weather data at Yamagata airport (39km northeast of the accident site) at the time of the accident (0225UTC):
RJSC 030200Z VRB02KT CAVOK 18/M01 Q1026
RJSC 030300Z VRB01KT CAVOK 21/M01 Q1025

[LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20170503-00000032-asahi-soci]
[LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20170503-00050067-yom-soci]
[LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20170503-00000516-san-soci]
[LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20170503-00000037-mai-soci]
[LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20170503-00000064-jij-soci]
http://web.archive.org/web/20170508155538/http://www3.nhk.or.jp:80/news/html/20170503/k10010969761000.html?utm_int=news_contents_news-main_005
[LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.news24.jp/articles/2017/05/03/07360570.html]
http://web.archive.org/web/20170507044531/http://news.tbs.co.jp:80/newseye/tbs_newseye3044580.html
[LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://news.tv-asahi.co.jp/news_society/articles/000099938.html]
http://web.archive.org/web/20170508155538/http://www3.nhk.or.jp:80/news/html/20170503/k10010969761000.html?utm_int=news-social_contents_list-items_012
http://1901rjtt-to-roah.blog.so-net.ne.jp/mutumi_airfield
http://www17.plala.or.jp/hikohki/akusesu/ketusourojiyouku.htm
http://jtsb.mlit.go.jp/jtsb/aircraft/detail2.php?id=2182
[LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20170509-00000028-mai-soci]

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
03-May-2017 08:28	isamuel	Added
03-May-2017 08:28	harro	Updated [Other fatalities, Plane category]
04-May-2017 07:50	isamuel	Updated [Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
08-May-2017 11:22	isamuel	Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Phase, Source, Narrative]
09-May-2017 06:53	isamuel	Updated [Source, Narrative]