Incident Overview
A gyroplane sustained substantial damage to its rudder after it rolled over to the right during a touch-and-go maneuver on a sand bar. The pilot reported that the nose wheel began to dig into soft sand during the landing sequence.
Sequence of Events
The pilot initiated a touch-and-go on a sand bar. As the aircraft moved across the surface, the nose wheel started to sink into soft sand. In an effort to regain traction, the pilot turned the nose wheel to the left, aiming for firmer sand. However, the spring-loaded nose wheel dug deeper into the sand and abruptly turned to the full-left position. This caused the gyroplane to roll onto its right side, resulting in structural damage to the rudder.
Mechanical Issue
The pilot noted that the throttle quadrant friction-set screw had become loose during the flight. However, this mechanical discrepancy did not occur during the touch-and-go phase and was not related to the rollover incident.