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MIA86FA027

1985-11-09 · DUNNELLON, Florida, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport X35

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE INSTRUCTOR PLT WHO WAS NOT RATED IN HELICOPTERS OR GYROPLANES AND HAD AN EXPIRED INSTRUCTORS CERTIFICATE WAS IMPARTING INSTRUCTION TO A STUDENT PLT IN A 2 PLACE HOMEBUILT GYROCOPTER. WHEN ON DOWNWIND TURN TO BASE LEG THE STUDENT TIPPED THE ROTOR DISC FORWARD AND THE ROTOR RPM DECAYED. THE ROTOR THEN WAS OBSERVED TO STRIKE THE RUDDER AND IT FAILED. THE ACFT THEN WAS OBSERVED TO FALL IN UNCONTROLLED FLT TO THE GROUND. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1985_MIA86FA027.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.