AutoGyro Europe MT-03, G-RSUK, 29 April 2006
AutoGyro Europe MT-03, G-RSUK
Summary:
The gyrocopter was returning from Popham Airfield to Coventry following an uneventful endurance flight. The pilot reported that the gyrocopter touched down, mainwheels first, with the engine power at idle. He held the nosewheel off the runway, however, as the nosewheel touched down the gyrocopter turned left. The rotors struck the runway, one blade broke off and the gyrocopter rolled onto its right hand side. The pilot was uninjured. The pilot attributed the cause of the accident to a combination of his failure to keep the nosewheel off the ground until the forward speed was low enough that the offset nosewheel could be straightened before an immediate turn commenced, and the high ground speed which prevented the turn being completed without the gyrocopter rolling over. He considered that the calm wind conditions, high aircraft centre of gravity and fixed nosewheel to rudder pedal relationship made control of the landing overly sensitive. A design modification to introduce a self-centering, fully castoring nosewheel has been incorporated in the aircraft configuration type approval and has successfully completed a ground and flight test program by both the CAA and RotorSport UK Ltd.
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