NTSB Factual Report

"THIS CASE WAS MODIFIED MAY 28, 2008."

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On April 29, 2007, at 1200 Pacific daylight time, an experimental McDonald J4B-2 gyrocopter, N445SM, impacted terrain following a loss of control during cruise flight near Marysville, California. The pilot/owner/builder operated the gyrocopter under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 as a personal flight. The gyrocopter was destroyed. The pilot, the sole occupant, was killed. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight departed the Yuba County Airport (MYV), Marysville, California, at an undetermined time.

A friend of the pilot, the gyrocopter kit manufacturer, reported that on the morning of the accident, the pitch needed to be readjusted on the main rotor system. The friend stated that the main rotor system was about 1/4 inch off track. He and the pilot made the adjustment, and the friend conducted a test flight with no problems encountered.

Witnesses reported seeing the gyrocopter about 3/4 mile away from highway 70 before it went into a spin. The gyrocopter then spun towards the highway and crashed onto the southbound lanes. These witnesses were in various locations near the accident site. They all heard a loud "pop" emanate from the gyrocopter, and then saw debris falling to the ground. One witness reported a pipe similar to a tail pipe fell in her neighbor's yard.

Another witness reported that he was watching the gyrocopter fly over his residence. A gust of wind struck the gyrocopter and its nose pointed in an upward angle. He watched as the pilot attempted to correct the pitch attitude by tilting the nose back down. The witness then heard a loud "pop" and thought that something had malfunctioned. He further reported that "the propeller remained at an upward angle." He then observed the pilot "tilting" the gyrocopter back and forth, and at one point, the propeller started to cut into the rear of the gyrocopter, which caused it to descend into a spiral.

According to a responding deputy from the Yuba County Sheriff's Department, the gyrocopter came to rest on the southbound lanes of Highway 70 near the Olivehurst Avenue exit.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

A review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airman records revealed the 62-year-old pilot held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single engine land rating. A review of the FAA Airman and Medical Records revealed that the pilot received his private pilot certificate on November 6, 1977. On his application for an airman certificate he recorded a total time of 60.2 hours. The pilot's only application for an airman medical certificate was in March 1977 for a third-class medical and student pilot certificate. The certificate was issued with the limitation that it was not valid for night flying or by color signal control.

According to the pilot's logbook, he had recorded a total time of 13.55 hours in the accident gyrocopter make and model. The time was recorded from May 17, 2006, through April 6, 2007. No other records were made available to the National Transportation Safety Board regarding the pilot's flight experience.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The two-seat tandem experimental amateur built gyrocopter was a 2006 McDonald J4B-2, serial number 1394-2, and was powered by a Subaru EJ22 fuel injected engine. The gyrocopter was constructed with a fuselage, tricycle landing gear, two-bladed main rotor, an aft-mounted engine and a three-bladed propeller, with a rudder, and vertical and horizontal stabilizers attached behind the engine/propeller assembly.

A review of the aircraft logbook revealed that on February 28, 2006, the gyrocopter had been inspected and the special airworthiness certificate had been issued. The entry also indicated that the next inspection was to take place in February 2007. There were no further logbook entries for the gyrocopter.

According to the kit plan manufacturer/designer, the gyrocopter is not susceptible to pilot-induced oscillations as a result of the larger stabilizer.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

The Yuba County Sheriff's Department performed an autopsy on the pilot on May 2, 2007. The cause of death was listed as an accident due to multiple injuries. The YCSD toxicological report reported the following positive results:

Narcotic analgesics - Hydrocodone 0.15 mg/L,

Miscellaneous - Diphenhydramine - positive

Zolpidem, 0.06 mg/L

Other positive results listed in the OTHER ANALYSIS section were: Acetaminophen - positive

Dihydrocodeine - 100 ng/ml.

The FAA Forensic Toxicology Research Team, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, performed a toxicological analysis from samples obtained during the autopsy. Toxicological testing for carbon monoxide, cyanide, and volatiles yielded negative results. The results for tested drugs yielded the following positive results:

0.286 (ug/ml, ug/g) hydrocodone detected in blood

0.691 (ug/ml, ug/g) hydrocodone detected in liver

0.125 (ug/mL, ug/g) dihydrocodeine detected in blood

0.469 (ug/mL, ug/g) dihydrocodeine detected in liver

Metoprolol detected in blood

Metoprolol present in liver

0.923 (ug/ml, ug/g) diphenhydramine detected in blood

Diphenhydramine detected in liver

0.117 (ug/ml, ug/g) zolpidem detected in blood

Zolpidem detected in liver

51.63 (ug/ml, ug/g) acetaminophen detected in blood

The Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC) interviewed the pilot's spouse. She indicated that the few months prior to the accident her husband had been experiencing back pains. He had been prescribed the following medications since February: Altace (ramipril), Niaspan (niacin), Ambien (zolpidem), Toprol (metoprolol), hydrochlorothiazide, Norvasc (amlodipine). She also reported that he was very private about the medication he had been prescribed; she did know that he was diabetic, but controlled it through diet and exercise.

The responding deputy reported that the pilot remained secured in his seat by his seat belt.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

The recorded meteorological terminal aviation routine weather report (METAR) for MYV at 0953 reported winds as variable at 3 knots. The hour preceding the accident reported winds from 010 degrees at 4 knots, and the hour after the accident the winds were reported as variable at 4 knots.

TESTS AND RESEARCH

The gyrocopter was inspected by a FAA inspector and the gyrocopter kit plan manufacturer on May 23, 2007, at Plain Parts, Pleasant Grove, California. The FAA inspector reported that about 5 percent of the three-bladed wooden propeller blades remained attached to the hub. About 45 percent of the propeller blades material debris were recovered and reconstructed; the material was "substantially shattered and splintered." The FAA inspector indicated that about 10 inches from each blade tip were not present. One of the propeller blades had a deep concave deformity at the leading edge approximately 10 inches from the root; the concave deformity measured 0.5 x 2.0 x 0.25 inches. There were no similar markings on the other two propeller blades.

The airframe inspection revealed no deformities of the airframe structure on the aft portion of the gyrocopter. The engine mount attachment area did not allow for any movement of the propeller blade tips to come into contact with the airframe. The propeller blade tip rotation clearance was no closer than 4 inches from the tubular tail boom structure. The rudder and horizontal stabilizer areas showed no evidence of main rotor or propeller blade contact. There was also no evidence of the propeller blades contacting the vertical stabilizer. A Yuba County deputy recovered and turned over the tail pipe to the FAA inspector, which was later identified as the engine exhaust system tail pipe. The pipe did not have any strike marks or deformations on it.

The main rotor blades remained with the wreckage, but had become detached from the main rotor head. The main rotor blades were intact, with one blade exhibiting compression wrinkles throughout the length of the blade. The other blade exhibited some bending near the root area. The main rotor blades showed no evidence of contact with the engine/propeller assembly or the airframe.

NTSB Probable Cause

An in-flight loss of control for undetermined reasons. Contributing to the accident was the impairment of the pilot by the drug substances identified in the toxicological testing.