Mills Gregory T AIR COMMANDER LRT N962GT

Summary

On 14 May 2016 at about 22:00 local time, a Mills Gregory T AIR COMMANDER LRT registered N962GT was involved in an accident near Tybee Island, Georgia, 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.

Date

14 May 2016 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Tybee Island, Georgia, United States

Coordinates

31.9761, -80.8544

Aircraft

Mills Gregory T AIR COMMANDER LRT

Registration

N962GT

Category

Gyrocraft

Year built

2013

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Savannah → Savannah

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA16CA240

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's decision to perform a touch-and-go on unsuitable terrain, which resulted in a loss of directional control and a rollover.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of a gyroplane reported that during a touch-and-go on a sand bar, the nose wheel began to dig into soft sand. The pilot further reported that he turned the nose wheel to the left towards firmer sand, but the spring-loaded nose wheel dug further into the sand and suddenly turned "full left." Subsequently, the gyroplane rolled over to the right, which resulted in substantial damage to the rudder. The pilot reported that the throttle quadrant friction-set screw had become loose while in-flight, but the mechanical malfunction did not occur during the touch-and-go phase of flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.