Elam RAF 2000-GTX N95WE
18 April 1999 · Palmer, Alaska, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 18 April 1999 at about 20:30 local time, a Elam RAF 2000-GTX registered N95WE was involved in an accident near Palmer, Alaska, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 20:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Palmer, Alaska, United States
- Nearest airport
- Palmer Muni (PAQ)
- Coordinates
- 61.6196, -148.9793
- Aircraft
- Elam RAF 2000-GTX
- Registration
- N95WE
- Category
- Gyrocraft
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- ANC99LA048
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions. A factor associated with the accident was a downdraft.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The private pilot was departing on runway 15 in a gyroplane. He said that as the gyroplane climbed to about 400 feet above the runway, strong winds were encountered from the southeast. The pilot stated: 'I just could not keep it from sinking, and I had to put it down.' The pilot said that during a forced landing in an open field the gyroplane landed hard, and the fuselage and main rotor system sustained substantial damage. The pilot holds a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land rating, and did not hold a rotorcraft-gyroplane rating. The pilot stated that he did obtain an instructor's logbook endorsement for solo flight in gyroplanes. The pilot reported that after the accident a bent and fractured cyclic control tube was found lying next to the gyroplane wreckage. The cyclic control tube was sent to the NTSB's Materials Laboratory for examination. A Safety Board metallurgist reported that the fracture surfaces exhibited features consistent with an overstress separation. He added that the fracture face was consistent with the direction of the tube bending. The closest official weather observation station is Palmer. On April 18, at 1153, an Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR) was reporting, in part: Wind, 170 degrees at 7 knots.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 May 1999 | Piper PA-24-260 | Juneau, Alaska, United States | - | Fatal | 2 |
| 24 May 1999 | Stinson 108 | Anchorage, Alaska, United States | Glenn A. Ferris | Fatal | 1 |
| 29 May 1999 | De Havilland DHC 2 MK III | Anchorage, Alaska, United States | William A. Sego | No injuries | - |
| 13 Mar 1999 | Cessna 170B | Palmer, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 30 May 1999 | Piper PA-18 | Port Alsworth, Alaska, United States | James T. Ables | No injuries | - |
| 14 Mar 1999 | Cessna 180G | Fairbanks, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |