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CEN13CA564

2013-09-26 · Watkins, Colorado, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport FTG

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's loss of control of the gyroplane during takeoff roll, following his inadvertent release of the cyclic control.

Factual narrative

During the takeoff roll, the pilot stated that the cyclic control slipped out of his hand, followed by an abrupt pitch up of the gyroplane. After becoming airborne for a brief time, the gyroplane descended tail first onto the runway and then cartwheeled several times, coming to rest on its right side. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the gyroplane that would have precluded normal operation. During the takeoff roll, the pilot stated that the cyclic control slipped out of his hand, followed by an abrupt pitch up of the gyroplane. After becoming airborne for a brief time, the gyroplane descended tail first onto the runway and then cartwheeled several times, coming to rest on its right side.  The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the gyroplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2013_CEN13CA564.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (loss of control). All research papers