History of Flight
On July 15, 2016, about 1900 central daylight time, an amateur-built experimental Titanium Explorer gyroplane, registration N556XT, was destroyed when it struck terrain near Whitewater, Kansas, and a post-impact fire ensued. The sport pilot, who was the registered owner and operator, was fatally injured. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as a local personal flight, originating from Newton City/County Airport (EWK) in Newton, Kansas, about 1830. No flight plan was filed, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
Witnesses interviewed by Kansas Highway Patrol officers and an FAA inspector reported that the gyroplane was flying at low altitude. The aircraft initiated a turn, its nose pitched up, then descended and impacted the ground. One witness noted hearing engine noise. A review of FAA air traffic control radar data revealed no primary or secondary radar returns consistent with the gyroplane; it was not in communication with air traffic controllers.
Personnel Information
The pilot, aged 61, held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating and a sport pilot certificate with a rotorcraft gyroplane rating. He passed the practical test for the gyroplane rating on June 17, 2016, in the accident gyroplane. He also held a repairman certificate with an inspection light sport – rotorcraft gyroplane rating issued August 24, 2011. His most recent third-class airman medical certificate was issued November 5, 2012, without limitations, at which time he reported 110 total flight hours.
Review of the pilot's logbooks showed entries from January 20, 1973, to April 14, 1976, recording about 80 hours in various aircraft, and an ultralight/recreational logbook with entries from November 20, 2010, to July 14, 2016, documenting about 54 hours in a gyroglider and the Titanium Explorer.
Aircraft Information
The Titanium Explorer (serial number TX007) was an experimental amateur-built gyroplane manufactured by the pilot and his wife in 2015. It was registered under a special airworthiness certificate for experimental operations. Power was supplied by a 100-horsepower Rotax 914UL engine driving a two-blade Bolly Optima composite propeller. The aircraft was maintained under a condition inspection program; a condition inspection was completed on May 31, 2016, at an airframe total time of 175.8 hours. At the time of the accident, the gyroplane had accumulated about 217 total hours, with approximately 40 hours flown since the last inspection.
Meteorological Information
The nearest official weather observation station was Newton City/County Airport (EWK), about 10 nautical miles northwest of the accident site, at an elevation of 1,533 ft msl. The routine weather report (METAR) at 1856 indicated wind from 090° at 7 knots, visibility 10 miles, scattered clouds at 4,700 ft, broken clouds at 5,500 ft, temperature 28° C, dew point 20° C, and an altimeter setting of 30.01 inches of mercury.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The accident site was in a vegetated field at an elevation of 1,385 ft msl. The gyroplane came to rest in a nose-low attitude on its left side, charred, melted, and partially consumed by fire. Several larger components separated during impact and were found within a 50- to 60-foot radius. The fuselage, engine, main rotor, and empennage were accounted for. Cockpit instrumentation and gauges had separated and did not provide reliable readings due to impact and fire damage.
Examination by an NTSB investigator revealed that the rudder control cable was continuous from the aft pulley to the rear seat rudder pedals. Push-pull tubes from the aft pedals forward were continuous, but both tubes separated at the forward pedals with signatures consistent overload from impact. The empennage was impact-damaged, and the rudder separated from the vertical stabilizer. The fuselage was fragmented into multiple pieces from impact and fire.
The main rotor consisted of two blades. The yellow-spot blade was broken into multiple pieces along its span due to impact, with the outboard portion showing heat and fire exposure. The non-spot blade was broken into two pieces; the outboard portion was embedded in the ground, and the inboard portion was fire-damaged.
The propeller and hub displayed impact and separation damage at all three blade hubs; propeller blades were charred, melted, and partially consumed by fire. The engine suffered impact damage and heat exposure, but no anomalies were noted that would have precluded normal operation.
Flight control tubes were continuous from the control stick aft to the mast and keel, and up to the control rod scissor arms. The two control arms between the scissor arms and the mast head separated with overload signatures consistent with impact. No pre-existing anomalies were identified.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy performed on July 16, 2016, by the Regional Forensic Science Center in Sedgwick County, Kansas, concluded that the cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries, including thermal injuries, and listed specific injuries. Examination identified a tumor in the right adrenal gland and evidence of a previous skull surgery.
Toxicological tests by the FAA's Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory detected amlodipine and norfluoxetine in blood and kidney; dihydrocodeine in lung and cavity blood; fluoxetine in kidney and cavity blood; and hydrocodone in lungs and cavity blood. Amlodipine, used for high blood pressure, is not generally considered impairing. Dihydrocodeine is a metabolite of hydrocodone; norfluoxetine is a metabolite of fluoxetine. Hydrocodone, a potentially impairing prescription painkiller, was found at levels consistent with therapeutic use; the pilot's wife reported he used hydrocodone for several years for chronic low back pain. Fluoxetine is used for mood disorders and may be approved for pilots via special issuance. The pilot did not report chronic medical conditions or medication use to the FAA during his 2012 medical exam. His wife reported a brain injury in his 20s requiring surgery, from which he fully recovered; she was unaware of the adrenal tumor.