Burton CALIDUS N50NE

Summary

On 6 January 2015 at about 23:00 local time, a Burton CALIDUS registered N50NE, operated by Airgyro Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near Grand Junction, Colorado, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 January 2015 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Grand Junction, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

39.0806, -108.5592

Aircraft

Burton CALIDUS

Registration

N50NE

Category

Gyrocraft

Year built

2014

Engines

1

Operator

Airgyro Aviation LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Montrose → Spanish Fork

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN15CA128

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with terrain that was along the planned route of flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that during a flight to the destination airport, the gyrocopter was in a slow climb at about 60 knots due to higher terrain that he knew was approaching along the route. As the gyrocopter approached a ridge, the pilot noticed that more altitude was needed, so he turned left of course along the ridge while continuing the climb, expecting to turn right at an area that he saw had lower terrain. The pilot said that things were still going well, but the climb rate had decreased somewhat. As the gyrocopter approached the area of lower terrain, the gyrocopter started to descend quickly with a best rate of climb speed of 52 knots. The gyrocopter descended lower than the surrounding trees and "brushed" the tree tops, tipping the gyrocopter forward and to the right. The pilot saw a small clearing and applied corrective control input to maintain an upright attitude of the gyrocopter and to reach the clearing. Just before entering the clearing, the gyrocopter contacted oak brush with its rotor blades, which sustained substantial damage. The gyrocopter landed in the clearing and slid with minimal forward speed to a stop. The aircraft fuselage had a fractured nose and collapsed nose gear. The pilot sustained serious injuries and the passenger sustained minor injuries. The pilot stated that if he had turned right at the approach of the ridge where the terrain was lower, he could have gone around the south end of the ridge. He said he should have expected a down draft on the lee side of the ridge and could also have executed an escape route earlier by turning away from the ridge before the area of down flowing air.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.