Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Airgyro Aviation AG-915 Spartan, N499AG: Fatal accident occurred September 27, 2022 in Yankton, South Dakota

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Rapid City, South Dakota
 
Aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances and appeared to be on fire while descending and burned on impact. 

Limited Gyroplanes LLC


Date: 27-SEP-22
Time: 13:07:00Z
Regis#: N499AG
Aircraft Make: AIRGYRO AVIATION
Aircraft Model: AG-915 SPARTAN
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: FATAL
Total Fatal: 1
Flight Crew: 1 Fatal
Pax: 0 
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: DESTROYED
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: INITIAL CLIMB (ICL)
Operation: 91
City: YANKTON
State: SOUTH DAKOTA

Those who may have information that might be relevant to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation may contact them by email witness@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov. You can also call the NTSB Response Operations Center at 844-373-9922 or 202-314-6290.



YANKTON, South Dakota (Dakota News Now) - Authorities say one person is dead after a small helicopter crashed in southeast South Dakota.

Update 2:20 p.m.: According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the aircraft was an AG-915 Spartan helicopter that crashed northwest of Chan Gurney Municipal Airport in Yankton, S.D., around 10:30 a.m. Only the pilot was on board.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the situation.

Previously: The helicopter went down just before 10 a.m. Tuesday about five miles northwest of Yankton, according to Yankton Asst. Fire Chief Larry Nickels.

Nickels told WNAX Radio the craft crashed into a field and was destroyed on impact. There was one fatality, but Nickels did not provide any additional details.

National Transportation Safety Board officials are on their way to the scene to investigate. Nickels said local authorities will keep the scene secure until they arrive.



6 comments:

  1. Do believe that one has to have a loose screw or two to fly one of these contraptions.

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    Replies
    1. Some pilots crashing autogyros now grew up being continuously exposed to Bensen Gyrocopter ads in Popular Mechanics and Popular Science. Modern gyrocopters may be luring some old timers to act on that long ago implanted idea from their youth.

      I can remember telling my Mooney pilot Dad of my own desire for a Bensen based on those ads at age 15 or so. We didn't have internet back then, but even so, he was well aware of Bensen accidents and gave advice about the idea. Paramotors are today's Bensens that influence impressionable minds.

      Interesting article from 2004 describes how the fixed wing pilot's reflexive response of lowering the nose unloads the autogyro rotor, making robust training so very important:
      https://www.kitplanes.com/gyroplane-safety/

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    2. Same can be said for the BD-5..

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  2. Did we ever figure out who the pilot was?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Looks like the pilot was Kevin A. Rehm, 65.

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