ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 173779
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| Date: | Friday 1 June 2001 |
| Time: | 17:00 LT |
| Type: | Cricket MK.IV Gyroplane |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | G-BXEM |
| MSN: | PFAG/03-1282 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1996 |
| Engine model: | Rotax 582 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Henstridge Airfield, Templecombe, Somerset -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Henstridge Airfield, Somerset (EGHS) |
| Henstridge Airfield, Somerset (EGHS) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Written off (damaged beyond repair) 1 June 2001 when crashed on landing at Henstridge Airfield, Templecombe, Somerset, due to a PIO (Pilot Induced Oscillation). The pilot (sole person on board) was killed. Per the AAIB investigation into the accident:
"The owner assisted the pilot to start the gyroplane and then watched as the aircraft taxied out to Runway 25 and carried out the planned "short hop". He and other witnesses watched the gyroplane gather speed on the take off roll, but noticed the pilot have difficulty in establishing the "wheel balanced" position. The nose was seen to rise then descend again with the nose-wheel hitting the ground hard before the craft eventually became airborne. It was then seen to fly along the runway at low altitude before landing and taxying back towards the Runway 25 threshold.
The pilot gave the owner a "thumbs up" as he passed him on the taxyway and continued to taxy to Runway 25. During the second take-off the pilot again had difficulty establishing a controlled "balanced" position; the nose was seen to rise violently and the stabiliser wheel at the rear of the airframe struck the ground. Thereafter the nose descended again and the nose-wheel was seen to strike the ground hard before the craft almost jumped airborne in a right-wheel low attitude. Some eyewitnesses thought the craft was carrying out another "short hop", but as the craft approached the end of the runway, power was applied abruptly and the gyroplane carried out a steep left-banked turn to downwind.
As the gyroplane rolled out on the downwind leg it was seen to descend slightly and then establish level flight. Almost immediately the aircraft started an oscillation in pitch which continued the length of the downwind leg. One witness thought it was still pitching when it entered a steep turn to final. Some witnesses thought that the gyroplane's speed downwind was higher than normal, and others judged that the downwind leg had been angled towards the runway and that the final turn was therefore commenced from a position closer than normal to the runway centreline. An instructor who watched the gyroplane fly downwind was concerned to see the pitch oscillations, but as the aircraft began the final turn he considered that the pilot had recovered control and he therefore looked elsewhere.
The bank was then seen by others to reduce slightly before being reapplied to the point where eyewitnesses estimate the rotor was at 90° to the ground. From this attitude the gyroplane was seen to fall sideways into the ground from an estimated height of around 100 feet with no change in bank angle. At no time during this sequence were witnesses aware of any apparent problem with the engine.
The aircraft hit the ground on its left side and came to rest a short distance away with the pilot trapped beneath the wreckage. Rescuers freed the pilot and attempted resuscitation but without success"
The wreckage was recovered to the AAIB at Farnborough for crash investigation. Registration G-BXEM cancelled by the CAA on 7 November 2001 as aircraft "Permanently withdrawn from use"
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/54230380e5274a1317000c2b/dft_avsafety_pdf_501683.pdf
2. CAA: https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/g-info/rk=BXEM
3. http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/4962/1/Advances_in_the..._Flight_Dynamics.pdf
4. http://dorset.hampshireairfields.co.uk/dorcrash.html
5. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/gyro-spotters/conversations/messages/116
6. Wings Over Somerset: Aircraft Crashes Since the End of World War II By Peter Forrester
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Feb-2015 20:18 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 17-Jul-2016 12:48 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Cn, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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