Jal R Dennis TRIXY PRINCESS N743SS

Summary

On 10 August 2015 at about 18:00 local time, a Jal R Dennis TRIXY PRINCESS registered N743SS was involved in an accident near Midland, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 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

10 August 2015 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Midland, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Midland Airpark (MDD)

Coordinates

32.0236, -102.0986

Aircraft

Jal R Dennis TRIXY PRINCESS

Registration

N743SS

Category

Gyrocraft

Year built

2014

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Midland → Midland

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN15LA350

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning during which he failed to account for the high-density altitude conditions and high gross weight, which degraded the gyroplane's climb performance and resulted in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The sport pilot was operating the gyroplane near its maximum gross weight on a hot day. He taxied the gyroplane to a position north of the runway intersection and then performed a normal takeoff to the south. During the initial climb, the gyroplane began to lose airspeed. The pilot tried to regain airspeed by lowering the nose, but the airspeed continued to decrease. The pilot conducted a forced landing in a park, during which the gyroplane impacted the ground hard and rolled over on its right side. Examination of the gyroplane, the engine, and other systems revealed no evidence of any preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The density altitude was calculated to be 5,850 ft, which would have degraded the gyroplane's climb rate by 75 percent. It is likely the pilot failed to adequately prepare for the flight and did not account for the effects of high density-altitude conditions, high gross weight, and reduced engine performance and that these factors degraded the gyroplane's climb performance such that the pilot was unable to maintain a positive climb rate.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.