Rotorsport Uk Ltd CAVALON accident near Beverly, MA
On December 4, 2022, a Rotorsport Uk Ltd CAVALON (gyroplane) was involved in an accident near Beverly, MA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- December 4, 2022
- Place
- Beverly, MA
- Aircraft
- Rotorsport Uk Ltd CAVALON · Gyroplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 42.588°N, 70.918°W
- NTSB ID
- 20221204106407
Official records · ERA23FA078
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On December 4, 2022, about 1135 eastern standard time, a Rotorsport UK Cavalon gyroplane, N401GR, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Beverly, Massachusetts. The sport pilot was fatally injured. The gyroplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot, who was also the owner of the gyroplane, acquired his sport pilot certificate about 6 months before the accident and had about 120 total hours of flight experience, all of which were in the gyroplane. The pilot had just received the gyroplane back after about three months in maintenance, and according to witnesses, he had not flown during that period. On the day of the accident, the pilot was planning to conduct a local flight; after engine start, he taxied from his hangar to runway 34, where he was cleared for takeoff by a tower controller. Security video showed that, during the initial climb, the gyroplane climbed to about 40 ft above ground level, where it leveled off briefly, then resumed a shallow climb while in a left yaw. As the gyroplane continued to climb, it began to tilt to the right followed by a rapidly developing right roll. (see figure 1.) The aircraft completed one full 360° roll to the right as it descended out of control and impacted the runway on its right side. Figure 1. Security camera footage screen grabs showing the gyrocopter during climb as it entered a left yaw followed by a roll to the right. Two electronic flight displays with recording capability were retained and sent to the NTSB Recorders Laboratory for download. Revie
Probable cause
The pilot’s improper yaw control during the takeoff initial climb, which resulted in an excessive sideslip and a subsequent loss of aircraft control.
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Browse: Massachusetts
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
