ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 174764
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| Date: | Saturday 13 June 1998 |
| Time: | 20:06 |
| Type: |  Montgomerie-Bensen B8MR |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | G-WHIR |
| MSN: | PFA G/01A-1142 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Coll, 3 nm N of Stornaway, Isle of Lewis -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Stornoway Airport (SYY/EGPO) |
| Coll, Isle of Lewis | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Written off (damaged beyond repair) 13 June 1998 when crashed at Coll, Isle of Lewis, killing the pilot/ constructor/owner (sole person on board). According to the the following extract from the official AAIB report into the accident:
"It is not known at precisely what time the pilot arrived at the hangar on Stornoway Airport where the gyroplane was stored, however at about 18:00 hours he was seen lying on his back inside the cockpit. He appeared to be working on something on the underside of the cockpit top. Later, at about 19:40 hours, he was seen doing his pre-flight walk round check and shortly afterwards the engine was heard to start.
Although the Airport was closed, the pilot made 'blind' radio calls and the initial part of the flight has been deduced almost entirely from these calls. The gyroplane took off from Runway 36 at 19:46 hours and positioned left downwind for Runway 07. The pilot carried out a practice engine failure, landed at about 19:50 hours and took off again.
He then carried out a 'touch-and-go' landing on Runway 07 and, at about 19:54 hours, transmitted that he was turning left to conduct visual flight rules (VFR) flying, for some 50 minutes, to the north of the Airport. At 19:57 hours, he reported that he was 1 natical mile to the north of Runway 18 at 1,000 feet agl and heading 360 degrees at 70 mph. At 19:57:35 hours, he transmitted that he was descending to 500 feet above ground level (agl); this was the last radio call recorded from G-WHIR.
The gyroplane had flown along the coast towards the village of Coll, which is about 3 nautical miles to the north of the Airport. A witness to the accident lived in that village; he had held a Private Pilot's Licence and had expressed an interest in learning to fly the gyroplane. He had previously contacted the pilot and arranged to meet him in the hangar at Stornoway Airport at about 17:30 hours that evening in order to see the gyroplane.
Although he had arrived at the hangar at the appointed time, the pilot was not there and so he had departed. Later that evening he was at home when he heard, and then saw, the gyroplane flying from the direction of the Airport; he estimated that it was initially at about 1,000 feet agl, but had then descended to about 500 feet agl as it approached the village. The main road through the village is orientated west/east and the witness's house was on the northern side of this road. He estimated that the local wind was from the east, at about 25 knots
The gyroplane passed over a house situated south of the road and then came to a brief hover over the road, heading east. It then carried out an orbit to the right, before again coming to a hover heading east over a garden to the north of the house. He thought that the pilot appeared to be leaning over the left side in a somewhat exaggerated manner. The gyroplane was drifting slowly forwards and to the right.
Several other witnesses also saw the final stage of the flight. Although, quite naturally, the detail and order of events varied, the accounts were largely in agreement. The engine noise increased and the gyroplane entered a steep climb at low speed. It appeared to "hang in the air" for a short time before it started to slide backwards and roll to the left. It appeared to turn almost completely upside down and fell in this attitude. At some stage during the initial part of this sequence the rotor blades were seen to come into contact with the propeller, which broke-up. The speed of the rotor blades was also seen to decrease. The gyroplane impacted the ground at the northern end of the rear garden of the house near which it had been hovering".
The AAIB report confirms that the gyroplane was "destroyed"'; as a result the registaion was cancelled by the CAA on 7 December 1998 as "Permanently withdrawn from use" and the pilot/owners "Addressee Status: Deceased"
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/montgomerie-bensen-b8mr-g-whir-13-june-1998
2. CAA: http://www.caa.co.uk/aircraft-registration/
3. http://www.griffin-helicopters.co.uk/accidentdetails.aspx?accidentkey=3541
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-Mar-2015 18:37 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 22-Mar-2015 18:39 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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