LAX98LA271

Factual narrative

On August 18, 1998, at 1208 hours Pacific daylight time, a homebuilt experimental Clark Barnett J4B2 gyroplane, N694, nosed over during a landing at the Yuba County airport, Marysville, California. The aircraft, owned and operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91, was destroyed in the accident sequence. The student pilot sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the local area personal flight. The pilot stated that he had recently purchased the gyroplane and wanted to test out the new set of rotor blades that had been installed to see if they would spin up. According to the pilot, after he reached a certain speed while on the runway, the gyroplane shot up in the air approximately 50 feet. For a short period of time he was able to level it out, but the plane immediately yawed to the left. The pilot applied right stick and he reported that it seemed like left rudder was being held. After he made a complete circle to the left he decided to land in the dirt by the runway. According to the pilot, he landed nose low and broke the nose wheel off. He reported he slid for 30 feet and nosed over. The pilot stated that the rotor blades, rotor head, and propeller were destroyed. Some damage was done to the tail section and stabilizer. The Federal Aviation Administration investigator reported that the gyrocopter was destroyed after the rotor blades hit the ground. He reported that the pilot had altered the rotor blades. The student pilot was testing out a new set of rotor blades that he had recently changed. The pilot reported that the gyrocopter unexpectedly shot straight up into the air 50 feet during the takeoff ground roll. He had trouble maintaining control, stating that the aircraft immediately yawed to the left and it felt like the left rudder was being held. The pilot made a pattern circuit and decided to land in a dirt area adjacent to the runway. He said he landed nose low in soft dirt, which broke the nose wheel off, slid 30 feet and then nosed over. An FAA inspector examined the aircraft and reported that the main rotor, rotor head, and the empennage control surfaces were destroyed. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12