What happened
On 25 September 2006, an ELA 07 gyroplane, registration ZU-ELA, was involved in an accident during a solo training flight. The aircraft was operating out of Barkley East Aerodrome (FABF) and was intended to land at the same location. During the landing sequence on runway 27, the student pilot touched down on the front wheel, a maneuver known as wheelbarrowing. Because the runway surface or alignment caused the aircraft to drift to the right, the gyroplane subsequently rolled over onto its right-hand side.
While there were 0 fatalities and 0 injuries reported, the aircraft suffered significant structural damage, specifically to the rotor, propeller, rotor mast, and the fuselage.
The investigation
SACAA AIID investigators reviewed the flight circumstances and the aircraft's maintenance history. The aircraft had undergone its last annual inspection on 10 September 2006, at which time it had 199.0 flying hours. At the time of the accident, the aircraft had accumulated an additional 46.4 flying hours. The investigation also looked into the status of the Approved Training Organization (ATO) responsible for the flight, noting that the school had received a new approval certificate in May 2006 and was subject to standard regulatory oversight.