Celier XENON RST N402ED

Summary

On 17 July 2015 at about 18:00 local time, a Celier XENON RST registered N402ED, operated by Steven Posner, was involved in an accident near Livingston, Texas, United States. One person was on board and 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

17 July 2015 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Livingston, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Livingston Muni (00R)

Coordinates

30.6889, -95.0219

Aircraft

Celier XENON RST

Registration

N402ED

Category

Gyrocraft

Year built

2007

Engines

1

Operator

Steven Posner

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Livingston → Lockhart

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA15LA191

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s loss of directional control after aborting the takeoff due to a grinding noise coming from the main rotor area, which resulted in a runway excursion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during takeoff and as the gyroplane was about 1 ft above the ground, he heard a grinding noise originating from the main rotor area directly above him. The pilot reduced the power to idle to abort the takeoff. The gyroplane drifted off the left side of the runway and rolled onto its left side. During postaccident examination of the gyroplane, flight control continuity was established, and no anomalies were noted. An examination of the main rotor head revealed that the top of the prerotation plate, which is a large-diameter, circular metal plate with a gear-toothed outer edge used to prerotate the main rotor blades for takeoff, displayed evidence of preaccident circumferential scoring. An examination of the prerotation drive housing showed evidence of scoring on the upper portion of the opening through which the prerotation plate is driven. The top of the upper housing assembly also displayed evidence of scoring. Based on the evidence, it is likely that the prerotation housing became misaligned, which resulted in the grinding noise reported by the pilot. However, the misalignment of the prerotation housing would not have led to the loss of directional control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.