Accident Overview
On October 1, 2014, at an unknown time, an unregistered amateur-built Air Command 582 gyroplane sustained substantial damage when it impacted terrain near Rostraver Airport (FWQ) in Monongahela, Pennsylvania. The private pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the presumed local personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
Events Leading to the Accident
A friend of the pilot reported that the pilot had purchased the single-seat gyroplane in spring 2014 and sought additional training from a flight instructor. After training, the pilot stated he was "good to go" and subsequently made several flights near FWQ. On the day of the accident, the pilot was scheduled to meet friends around 1800. When he could not be located by 2030, the friend called 911 about 2100. According to the Westmoreland County Coroner's Summary Report, the wreckage was found on October 2 at approximately 0915, about 750 feet east of the runway 26 threshold, in an area of vegetation.
Witness and Pilot Background
A witness flying a helicopter in the traffic pattern at FWQ observed the pilot depart and fly in the vicinity of the airport for at least 45 minutes to 1 hour. The witness did not see the accident but recalled seeing the pilot still flying later that day while he conducted business on the ramp and in the terminal.
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land and received his most recent FAA third-class medical certificate on August 12, 2014. A flight instructor in Georgia reported that the pilot came to him in August 2014 for instruction. The instructor provided 4.8 hours of dual flight instruction and some ground instruction. After their last flight, the instructor endorsed the pilot's logbook for solo flight but with restrictions: the pilot could not fly higher than 5 feet and was not allowed to fly in an airport traffic pattern solo. The instructor also advised the pilot to bring the gyroplane back to Georgia for continued training. When informed of the accident location, the instructor expressed surprise that the wreckage was so far from the runway.
Aircraft Examination and Logbook Review
Examination of the airframe by FAA inspectors found no evidence of obvious mechanical deficiencies. Two of the three propeller blades had separated about 1 foot outboard of the hub, while the third blade remained intact. The gyroplane's engine was removed from the airframe and test run; it started normally and ran without anomalies.
A review of the pilot's logbook revealed 3.0 hours of ground instruction and 6.1 hours of flight training on August 15, 2014, at Macon Downtown Airport (MAC) in Macon, Georgia. The instructor's endorsement stated the pilot was "safe and competent to operate his Air Command Gyro Plane. Ground taxi, balance and in ground effect. Wind restriction of 10 mph, daytime." The logbook also contained 14 additional entries for flights between August 20 and September 29, 2014, totaling 11.6 hours. None of these flights were logged as dual instruction, nor did they contain instructor endorsements. The first seven entries included remarks about runway, taxiing, spinning rotors, balancing on mains, hops, crosswind control, and rotor brake control. The final seven flights (6.7 hours) included comments such as closed pattern, landings, turns, slow flight, turns at point, flat spins, and vertical descents. No airworthiness, maintenance, or aircraft registration records could be located for the gyroplane.
Post-Accident Toxicology and Autopsy
An autopsy performed by Cyril H. Wecht and Pathology Associates, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, listed the cause of death as blunt force injuries. Toxicological testing by the FAA's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute found no traces of ethanol, carbon monoxide, or other drugs in the pilot's system.