History of Flight
On August 31, 2013, at 1357 Pacific daylight time, a single-seat experimental amateur-built Sport Copter Vortex gyroplane, registration N43259, collided with terrain near Scappoose Industrial Airpark, Scappoose, Oregon. The student pilot, who was also the registered owner, was fatally injured. The gyroplane sustained substantial damage and was subsequently destroyed by post-impact fire. The local personal flight had departed Scappoose about two minutes prior to the accident. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.
According to a friend of the pilot, minor maintenance had been performed on the nosewheel earlier that morning. The pilot did not intend to take off, but rather planned a series of high-speed taxi tests and "crow hops." The friend noted that the pilot had never soloed in a gyroplane, with his only prior solo experience being a series of "crow hops" the previous weekend.
The friend witnessed and video-recorded the initial segment of the flight from a midfield position on the west ramp. The gyroplane began its ground roll north on the parallel taxiway west of Runway 33. It took off and appeared to fly normally, but during an attempted landing, it became unstable and began to wobble. The pilot applied engine power, and the gyroplane climbed, initiating a left turn toward the crosswind leg.
A second witness, a certified flight instructor with extensive helicopter and gyroplane experience, observed from his hangar farther north along the runway. He heard the gyroplane on the taxiway, saw it "crow hopping" down the taxiway, then take off heading north. It began a left turn, climbing over hangars and trees, and joined the downwind leg at what he considered a slow airspeed. He noted the engine sound was normal, with no smoke or vapor. He was alarmed by the gyroplane's airspeed and its aggressive nose-up attitude, describing it as "mushing" through the sky. He was concerned the pilot lacked complete control. The gyroplane then made a left base turn while descending rapidly. He assumed it was an aggressive descent to land and returned to his hangar; shortly after, he saw smoke near where he last observed the gyroplane descending.
A third witness, located on an access road at the departure end of Runway 33 about one mile from the accident site, observed the downwind portion. The gyroplane was flying about 200 feet above surrounding trees. He looked away briefly, and upon returning his gaze, saw the full disc of the rotor blades and the fuselage appear to spin. The gyroplane then tumbled and rapidly descended to the ground.
Review of video footage closely matched witness statements. It showed the gyroplane taxiing south with the engine running and rotor blades spinning. In the next segment, the gyroplane was airborne flying north over the taxiway at about 30 feet above ground level (agl). As it passed midfield, the engine tone decreased, the gyroplane yawed left and began a rapid descent to about 25 feet agl. The engine tone then increased, it recovered, and climbed. At the end of the taxiway, it began a climbing left crosswind turn to about 150 feet agl. In the final segment, it was about 300 feet agl proceeding south on downwind. The video resolution prevented precise attitude assessment, but rotor blades were turning and engine was operating; no smoke or vapor was visible.
Personnel Information
The 59-year-old pilot held a combined student pilot and third-class medical certificate issued October 29, 2012, with a limitation requiring glasses for near vision. His logbook indicated 26.8 hours of total flight experience since his first training flight on July 30, 2012, through his most recent entry 11 days before the accident. Initial training was in a Cessna 152 fixed-wing airplane from July 30 to December 1, 2012, accumulating 17 hours of dual instruction. He began dual instruction in a Calidus gyroplane in Utah on July 23 and by August 15 had accumulated 8.7 hours. His last logbook entry was dual instruction in a Vortex II gyroplane in Scappoose. Neither his logbook nor student pilot certificate contained endorsements for solo flight. The flight instructor who provided his most recent training stated he was not ready for solo flight. No entries indicated flight experience in the accident gyroplane.
Aircraft Information
The single-engine gyroplane had a tubular aluminum and steel primary structure with composite cabin fairings and aluminum-skinned vertical and horizontal stabilizers. It was powered by a Rotax 618 series two-stroke engine and a three-blade composite propeller. The gyroplane was assembled from a kit by the original owner and received its special airworthiness certificate in May 2005. FAA records indicated the accident pilot purchased it in July 2010. No maintenance logbooks were recovered.
Meteorological Information
An automated surface weather observation from Scappoose, issued four minutes before the accident, reported calm wind, clear skies, temperature 29°C, dew point 12°C, and altimeter setting 29.87 inches of mercury.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The gyroplane came to rest on an easterly heading in a field about 950 feet west-northwest of the approach end of Runway 33. All structure was contained within the immediate impact area. A group of 130-foot-tall trees 50 feet to the north showed no recent damage. The fuselage lay on its left side with extensive thermal damage from the aft tail keel through the rotor mast, consuming most of the cabin, flight controls, and structural members. Damage signatures were consistent with striking the ground in a left-side-low, nose-down attitude, with the vertical stabilizer and rudder bent over the left horizontal stabilizer.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy by the Oregon State Police determined the cause of death as multiple fractures and internal injuries. Toxicological tests by the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute found no carbon monoxide, and results were negative for all screened drug substances and alcohol.
Tests and Research
Examination of the recovered airframe and engine by the NTSB, FAA, and a Sport Copter representative revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The rotor assembly sustained minimal thermal damage; the folding mast clamp was intact. Rotor head pivot bolts were intact and could be pivoted by hand. All bump stops, bushings, and pivot plates exhibited contact damage consistent with over-travel of primary rotor system components.
Both main rotor blades remained attached. One blade had a 10-degree downward curve along its length, with trailing-edge wrinkles on the inboard two-thirds. The second blade had a 5-degree downward bend at the teeter hinge, similar trailing-edge wrinkles, a 30-degree upward bend starting midspan, and a semicircular puncture on the lower skin consistent with striking the pilot's footrest crossbar. Three scour marks with grey dust-like material on the lower surface, and eight chordwise scratches spaced at 2-inch intervals, were consistent with contact between the main rotor blade and engine propeller blade tips while both were rotating.
The keel boom separated from the fuselage just forward of the landing gear trailing arm; crush damage and a black transfer mark were present on the right side adjacent to the propeller rotational plane. The engine sustained extensive thermal damage; carburetors and most ancillary components were consumed. Engine mounting bolts were in place. The reduction gearbox was intact with no indication of catastrophic failure. Spark plugs showed light gray deposits with no mechanical damage; cylinders examined with a borescope were free of catastrophic damage. The propeller hub remained attached to the gearbox output drive; all three blades had separated about 4 inches from the hub and exhibited tip damage. Two blades were in the airframe remnants; the third, free of thermal damage, was found 25 feet north of the engine, with white transfer marks and crush damage to the outboard leading edge.