What happened
On March 24, 2012, a scheduled 30-minute sightseeing flight took place near Weilerswist, Germany. The flight was organized as a special event for a bachelor party, intended to allow the groom to drop rose petals over a property in the town of Lommersum. The flight departed from the Weilerswist-Müggenhausen airfield at 13:22 local time.
During the flight, the pilot maneuvered west of Lommersum before turning back toward the target location. As the pilot reduced airspeed to prepare for the low-level pass, the aircraft began to lose altitude. At approximately 13:31, the AutoGyro MTOsport (registration D 0-S 44) collided with the gable of a house positioned perpendicular to the flight path. The impact caused the aircraft to crash into the property's courtyard, resulting in the destruction of the gyroplane and damage to the building's roof and solar panels.
Both the pilot and the passenger sustained serious injuries. The aircraft was also destroyed, and damage was caused to a nearby house.
The investigation
The BFU investigation examined the aircraft's technical condition, the pilot's experience, and the flight dynamics. The aircraft, a 2009 model, was found to be significantly overweight at the time of the accident. While the 2009 weight report indicated a weight of approximately 258 kg for the empty aircraft, the actual takeoff mass was estimated at approximately 480 kg, exceeding the maximum allowable takeoff mass of 450 kg.
The investigation also reviewed the pilot's credentials. Although the pilot held various licenses, his experience specifically with gyroplanes was limited to approximately 13 hours of training. Furthermore, there was no documented evidence in his flight log of gyroplane flight time since his initial training in 2009, nor could he demonstrate that the required biennial proficiency flight with an instructor had been performed.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the pilot flying behind the power curve. By reducing airspeed to a level where the engine could no longer maintain altitude, the pilot entered a state of unrecoverable descent.
- The aircraft was operating above its maximum allowable takeoff mass, which likely contributed to the inability to recover from the descent.
- The pilot's flight experience with gyroplanes was minimal, with only 13 hours of training recorded and no recent documented proficiency flights.
- The pilot attempted to perform a maneuver involving the release of objects (rose petals) from the aircraft, which is prohibited under German aviation regulations.