Pavel TANGO2 N875FV

Summary

On 4 November 2019 at about 17:00 local time, a Pavel TANGO2 registered N875FV was involved in an accident near Cedartown, Georgia, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 November 2019 at 17:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Cedartown, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Polk County Airport- Cornelius (4A4)

Coordinates

34.0439, -85.1772

Aircraft

Pavel TANGO2

Registration

N875FV

Category

Gyrocraft

Year built

2019

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Cedartown → Cedartown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA20FA029

1 person died.

The pilot's loss of control of the gyroplane for reasons that could not be determined based on available evidence.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was performing a test flight to mitigate a vibration in the gyroplane. When the pilot did not return within the expected timeframe a friend alerted authorities and went to look for him. The wreckage was located about 2.5 miles from the departure airport in a cotton field where it came to rest inverted about 15 ft beyond the initial impact point. Examination of the wreckage revealed that there were no anomalies with the gyroplane that would have precluded normal operation prior to the accident. Toxicology testing identified sertraline and its metabolite desmethylsertraline, atorvastatin, and metoprolol in blood and urine. The pilot’s medications were unlikely to have resulted in impairment and therefore most likely did not contribute to the accident The pilot’s autopsy revealed severe coronary artery disease with a previous stent and severe ongoing stenosis in the left anterior descending coronary artery. While there was no obvious scar, no microscopic evaluation of the heart muscle was performed, so whether there was evidence of previous or ongoing ischemia could not be determined. However, the severity of his coronary artery disease placed him at increased risk of an acute cardiac event that could have resulted in sudden chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, or fainting, any of which could have been acutely impairing or incapacitating. But in this case, there is no available operational information; therefore, whether effects from the pilot’s coronary artery disease contributed to this accident could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.