Airgyro TERCEL N557AT

Summary

On 9 August 2018 at about 17:30 local time, a Airgyro TERCEL registered N557AT was involved in an accident near Spanish Fork, Utah, 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

9 August 2018 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Spanish Fork, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Spanish Fork Arpt Springville- (SPK)

Coordinates

40.1417, -111.6628

Aircraft

Airgyro TERCEL

Registration

N557AT

Category

Gyrocraft

Year built

2017

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Spanish Fork → Spanish Fork

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA18CA484

1 person had minor injuries.

The student pilot’s failure to maintain pitch and yaw control during takeoff.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The solo student pilot of the gyroplane reported that, during takeoff, he pulled the stick back and advanced the throttle to full. He accelerated and noticed "there was no tendency for the nose to rise," so he applied back pressure, and the gyroplane immediately turned left, rolled onto its side, and skidded off the runway to the left. The gyroplane sustained substantial damage to the main rotor, fuselage, and empennage. The student reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the gyroplane that would have precluded normal operation. The flight instructor provided a video of the student pilot's accident takeoff. The video showed the gyroplane accelerating down the runway, rapidly pitching up, and immediately rotating to the left before impacting the runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.