Amateur-built RAF 2000-GTX accident near Palmer, Alaska, April 18, 1999
On April 18, 1999 at about 8:30 pm local time, a amateur-built RAF 2000-GTX (gyroplane), registered N95WE, was substantially damaged in an accident near Palmer, Alaska (Palmer Muni airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions. A factor associated with the accident was a downdraft.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 18, 1999 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Palmer, Alaska · Palmer Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built RAF 2000-GTX RAF 2000-G
- Registration
- N95WE · no longer on the register · serial HS-93-4-99
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The private pilot was departing on runway 15 in a gyroplane. He said that as the gyroplane climbed to about 400 feet above the runway, strong winds were encountered from the southeast. The pilot stated: 'I just could not keep it from sinking, and I had to put it down.' The pilot said that during a forced landing in an open field the gyroplane landed hard, and the fuselage and main rotor system sustained substantial damage. The pilot holds a private pilot certificate with a single-engine land rating, and did not hold a rotorcraft-gyroplane rating. The pilot stated that he did obtain an instructor's logbook endorsement for solo flight in gyroplanes. The pilot reported that after the accident a bent and fractured cyclic control tube was found lying next to the gyroplane wreckage. The cyclic control tube was sent to the NTSB's Materials Laboratory for examination. A Safety Board metallurgist reported that the fracture surfaces exhibited features consistent with an overstress separation. He added that the fracture face was consistent with the direction of the tube bending. The closest official weather observation station is Palmer. On April 18, at 1153, an Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR) was reporting, in part: Wind, 170 degrees at 7 knots.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 182 hours in all; 14 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 48 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, February 23, 1998; 23 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,540 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Subaru EJ-22 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 15, 6,000 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from PAQ
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.