What happened
On December 23, 2012, a Charland Vortex gyrocopter, registration N618TC, crashed near a private airport in Wellton, Arizona. The aircraft was being operated by a private pilot under Part 91 regulations for a local personal flight. No flight plan had been filed for the mission.
At approximately 14:27 MST, the pilot was performing touch-and-go landings in a traffic pattern at an altitude of about 400 feet above ground level. A witness, who was also flying a gyrocopter in the same pattern, reported that the aircraft's performance appeared normal and unremarkable during previous landings. However, a second witness observed the gyrocopter descending at a 45-degree angle and striking the ground nose-first at approximately 100 feet altitude.
The impact caused substantial damage to the aircraft. The pilot, the sole occupant of the gyrocopter, sustained 1 fatal injury due to blunt force trauma.
The investigation
Investigators examined the wreckage at a facility in Phoenix, Arizona. The debris path was approximately 85 feet long, consisting primarily of broken propeller blade fragments. The aircraft came to rest inverted about 6 feet from the initial point of contact, which consisted of disturbed dirt containing parts of the nose gear and nose cone assembly.
Mechanical examination of the Rotax 582 engine and the airframe revealed no evidence of malfunctions or failures that would have prevented normal operation. The engine was able to be rotated by hand, and compression and suction were present in all cylinders. The oil reservoir was intact and half full. The three-bladed propeller showed significant impact damage, with blades separated or bent at mid-span.