NTSB Factual Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On July 15, 2016, about 1900 central daylight time, an amateur-built experimental Titanium Explorer gyroplane, N556XT, was destroyed when it impacted terrain near Whitewater, Kansas. A post impact fire ensued. The sport pilot was fatally injured. The gyroplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. No FAA flight plan had been filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local personal flight that originated from Newton City/County Airport (EWK), Newton, Kansas, about 1830.

According to witnesses interviewed by Kansas Highway Patrol officers and a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the gyroplane was flying at a low altitude. The gyroplane started a turn, its nose pitched up, and then it descended and impacted the ground. One witness described hearing engine noise.

A review of FAA air traffic control radar data did not reveal any primary or secondary radar targets consistent with the accident gyroplane. The gyroplane was not in communications, nor was it required to be in communications, with air traffic controllers.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot, age 61, held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating and a sport pilot certificate with a rotorcraft gyroplane rating. He was issued his gyroplane rating, after passing the practical test in the accident gyroplane, on June 17, 2016. He also held a repairman certificate with an "inspection light sport – rotorcraft gyroplane" rating issued on August 24, 2011.

The pilot's most recent third-class airman medical certificate was issued on November 5, 2012, without limitations. At that time, the pilot reported having 110 hours total flight time.

Copies of the pilot's "Pilot Flight Record and Log Book" and "Ultralight/Recreational Sport Pilot Log Book" were reviewed. The Pilot Flight Record contained entries dated between January 20, 1973, and April 14, 1976. These entries showed about 80 hours of flight time and experience in an Aeronca Champ 7AC, and a Cessna 150, a 172, and a 177. The Ultralight/Recreational logbook contained entries dated between November 20, 2010, and July 14, 2016. These entries illustrated about 54 hours of flight time and experience in a "gyroglider" and the Titanium Explorer.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

According to FAA records, the gyroplane, an experimental Titanium Explorer (serial number TX007) had been manufactured by the pilot and his wife in 2015. It was registered with the FAA on a special airworthiness certificate for experimental operations. It was powered by a 100-horsepower Rotax 914UL engine. The engine was equipped with a 2-blade, Bolly Optima composite propeller.

The gyroplane was maintained under a condition inspection program. A review of the maintenance records indicated that a condition inspection had been completed on May 31, 2016, at an airframe total time of 175.8 hours. When the accident occurred, the gyroplane had been flown about 40 hours since the condition inspection, and had accumulated about 217 hours total time.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

The closest official weather observation station was Newton City/County Airport (EWK), Newton, Kansas, located about 10 nautical miles northwest of the accident site. The elevation of the weather observation station was 1,533 ft mean sea level (msl). The routine aviation weather report (METAR) for EWK issued at 1856, reported, wind 090° at 7 knots, visibility 10 miles, sky condition, scattered clouds at 4,700 ft, broken clouds at 5,500 ft, temperature 28° C, dew point temperature 20° C, and altimeter 30.01 inches of mercury.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

An FAA inspector responded to the accident scene. The accident site was located in a vegetated field, at an elevation of 1,385 ft msl. The gyroplane came to rest in a nose low attitude, on its left side. It was charred, melted, and partially consumed by fire. Several larger components separated during the impact and were located within a radius of 50 to 60 feet surrounding the main wreckage and impact point.

The fuselage, engine, main rotor, and empennage were all accounted for at the accident site. The cockpit instrumentation and gauges had separated from their cockpit locations and did not convey reliable readings. Some instruments and gauges were impact and fire damaged.

After it was removed from the accident site, the wreckage was examined further, by an investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The rudder control cable was continuous from the aft pulley forward to the rear seat rudder pedals. Push-pull tubes were continuous from the aft pedals forward. Both tubes separated at the forward pedals. Signatures were consistent with impact damage and overload separation.

The empennage was impact-damaged, and the rudder had separated from the vertical stabilizer. The fuselage was impact- and fire-damaged and fragmented into multiple pieces.

The main rotor consisted of two blades, - the yellow-spot blade and the non-spot blade. The yellow-spot blade was broken into multiple pieces along the span consistent with impact damage. The outboard portion of the blade exhibited exposure to heat and fire. The non-spot blade was broken into two pieces. The outboard portion was found imbedded in the ground. The inboard portion of the blade was fire damaged.

The propeller and hub exhibited impact and separation damage at all three blade hubs. The propeller blades were charred, melted, and partially consumed by fire. The engine exhibited impact damage and exposure to heat and fire. No anomalies were noted that would have precluded normal operations.

The flight control tubes were continuous from the control stick aft to the mast and keel. The control tubes were continuous up to the control rod scissor arms. The two control arms between the scissor arms and the mast head were separated with signatures consistent with impact damage and overload separation. No anomalies were noted that would have precluded normal operations.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

The Regional Forensic Science Center – Sedgwick County, Kansas, performed an autopsy of the pilot on July 16, 2016. The autopsy concluded that the cause of death was "multiple blunt force injuries… include[ing] thermal injuries" and the report listed the specific injuries. The examination identified a tumor in the right adrenal gland. In addition, there was evidence of a previous surgery on the skull.

The FAA's Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, performed toxicological tests on specimens that were collected during the autopsy. Carbon monoxide and cyanide tests were not performed. Tests were negative for ethanol. Amlodipine and norfluoxetine were detected in the blood and kidney at unspecified levels. Tests detected dihydrocodeine at 0.019 ug/mL in the lung and 0.009 ug/mL in the cavity blood; fluoxetine at 3.598 ug/mL in the kidney and 0.313 ug/mL in the cavity blood; and hydrocodone at 0.138 ug/mL in the lungs and 0.04 ug/mL in the cavity blood.

Amlodipine is used to treat high blood pressure and is not generally considered impairing. Dihydrocodeine is a metabolite of hydrocodone and norfluoxetine is a metabolite of fluoxetine. Hydrocodone is a potentially-impairing prescription medication used to manage severe pain. Usual blood levels that result in pain control and psychoactive effects in novice users are between 0.01 and 0.05 ug/mL. According to the pilot's wife, he had been using hydrocodone for several years to treat chronic low back pain. Fluoxetine is used to treat a multitude of mood disorders and can be approved for use by pilots through a special issuance medical certificate.

The pilot had reported no chronic medical conditions and no chronic medication use to the FAA during his last airman medical certificate examination in 2012. The pilot's wife reported that, when he was in his 20's, the pilot sustained a brain injury in a motor vehicle accident that required surgery. She reported that he had fully recovered from his injuries related to this accident. She was not previously aware of the adrenal tumor.

NTSB Probable Cause

The loss of aircraft control for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.