Pilot Debrief

MAGNIFLIGHT LLC M24 ORION near Valmeyer, IL — 2024-10-19

Final reportCEN25LA022
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Date
2024-10-19
Location
Valmeyer, IL, USA
Airport
27LL
Aircraft
MAGNIFLIGHT LLC M24 ORION
Registration
N4777W
Category
Gyroplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

The pilot’s loss of control due to flight control interference by the passenger during takeoff.

NTSB narrative

Before the flight, the pilot gave a safety briefing to his passenger, and explained to the passenger to keep his feet off of the rudder pedals and to stay clear of the cyclic during takeoff. After the briefing and startup, the pilot took off in the gyroplane with his passenger for a local flight. The grass runway was bumpy, so the pilot lifted the front wheel off the ground as soon as possible and rode the main wheels until speed was built up enough to lift off. As all the wheels came off the ground, the gyrocopter started to drift to the right off of the runway. The pilot tried to correct with cyclic but was unable to move the cyclic. The gyroplane continued to move to the right and touched down in a field nose first and bounced. The gyroplane hit a concrete obstacle and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and main rotor. The pilot believed that the passenger’s left leg interfered with the movement of the cyclic which resulted in the right drift after takeoff. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 2 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents2

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