What happened
On 14 February 2012, a VPM M16 Tandem Trainer gyroplane, registration G-CVPM, was participating in a private flight from Yorkshire to a base near Exeter. During a scheduled refueling stop at Halfpenny Green (Wolverhampton) Airport, the pilot prepared for departure by taxiing to Runway 34.
As the pilot initiated the pre-rotation of the rotor, the aircraft failed to remain stationary on its brakes. Despite the rotor RPM being lower than the preferred level, the pilot moved the cyclic control aft to assist in building rotor speed. During this process, the pilot experienced severe vibrations through the cyclic control.
The investigation
Following the event, the pilot returned the aircraft to the apron for an inspection. The investigation, based on the pilot's accident report and provided photographs, identified physical damage to the aircraft. Specifically, a portion of the upper section of the rudder was missing. Additionally, the tips of the propeller blades had sustained damage.
Findings
- The inspection revealed that the damage to the rudder and the propeller tips was consistent with the rotor disc flapping back into contact with the rudder and propeller during the low-RPM pre-rotation phase.