Halley Kft APOLLO N15LU

Summary

On 17 December 2017 at about 23:40 local time, a Halley Kft APOLLO registered N15LU was involved in an accident near North Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. 2 people were 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

17 December 2017 at 23:40

Classification

Accident

Location

North Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

North Las Vegas (VGT)

Coordinates

36.2106, -115.1944

Aircraft

Halley Kft APOLLO

Registration

N15LU

Category

Gyrocraft

Year built

2016

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

North Las Vegas → North Las Vegas

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA18CA086

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to stop the main rotor rotation before taxiing the gyroplane in gusting wind conditions, resulting in the main rotor striking the empennage.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot of the experimental amateur-built gyroplane, he landed on a taxiway and taxied to the runway intersection. The intersection was on the right side of runway 30R. The ramp where the pilot wanted to park, was across both runways, on the left side of runway 30L. Unfamiliar with the capabilities of the gyroplane, the tower controller asked the pilot to air taxi to the ramp. The pilot informed the tower controller that he could either ground taxi or takeoff and land on runway 30L then taxi to the ramp. The controller and the pilot agreed to the latter. The pilot further reported that, in anticipation of taxiing to parking, he had allowed the gyroplane's rotor speed to decrease; when he turned the gyroplane back onto the taxiway in the gusting wind, the main rotor struck the empennage and the pusher-propeller. The gyroplane sustained substantial damage to the empennage and rotor system. The METAR at the accident airport reported that about the time of the accident, the wind was from 330° at 14 kts and gusting to 19 kts. The pilot reported that this accident could have been prevented if he had waited for the rotor blades to stop completely before repositioning the gyroplane for taxi. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the gyroplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.