ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 36049
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Date: | Saturday 28 November 1998 |
Time: | 15:00 |
Type: | RAF 2000 |
Owner/operator: | William G. Blanton |
Registration: | N14GR |
MSN: | H2-96-7-265 |
Total airframe hrs: | 77 hours |
Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Category: | Accident |
Location: | near Hackberry Road, The Colony, TX -
United States of America
|
Phase: | En route |
Nature: | Private |
Departure airport: | Caddo Mills, TX (7F3) |
Destination airport: | Propwash Airport, Fort Worth, TX |
Investigating agency: | NTSB |
Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:On November 28, 1998, at 15:00 CST (Central Standard Time), a Blanton Rotary Air Force (RAF) 2000 experimental amateur built gyroplane, N14GR, was destroyed when the main rotor blades struck the rudder during cruise flight near The Colony, Texas. The private pilot, who was the registered owner and builder of the gyroplane, sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The cross-country flight originated from the Caddo Mills Municipal Airport, Caddo Mills, Texas, at 14:30 CST.
According to two other gyroplane pilots, they arrived at Caddo Mills with the pilot of N14GR, earlier in the day for a meeting of "The Popular Rotorcraft Association." After the meeting, they each departed in their own gyroplane. They reported that before they took off they all planned to fly to the Propwash Airport near Fort Worth, Texas, to obtain fuel.
After they departed the airport, they kept each other in sight for the first 30 miles of the flight. Both pilots reported that the last time they observed the accident gyroplane, it was flying straight-and-level along the northern perimeter of Lake Lavon, at 80 miles per hour and 800 feet agl, in a southwesterly direction, directly towards the Propwash Airport.
Both pilots stated that the wind was from the "south at 20 knots and was gusty." One pilot added that he encountered a gust, which he estimated was approximately "50 knots". He added that his thoughts at the time were "WOW, that was the biggest gust of wind that I have ever been hit with."
An eight-year-old witness was playing outside when she heard the gyroplane. She observed the gyroplane flying from the north to the south over Hackberry Road. She stated that she observed "things coming off" of the gyroplane.
Witnesses, who observed the gyroplane while driving their vehicles, stated that they heard a "loud bang" and then observed "flames" coming from the gyroplane. The gyroplane came to rest in a field, 800 feet south of Hackberry Road, and was consumed by fire
Sources:
1. NTSB Identification: FTW99FA038 at
https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief2.aspx?ev_id=20001211X11419&ntsbno=FTW99FA038&akey=1 2. FAA:
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=14GR Revision history:
Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
24-Oct-2008 10:30 |
ASN archive |
Added |
02-Aug-2016 20:19 |
Dr.John Smith |
Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
21-Dec-2016 19:22 |
ASN Update Bot |
Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
19-Nov-2022 09:20 |
Ron Averes |
Updated [Location] |
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