Amateur-built Bensen B8M accident near Johns Island, South Carolina, December 10, 2006

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The pilot stated he conducted a preflight inspection and no anomalies were noted and the gyro copter had about 5 gallons of fuel on board when he departed. The pilot departed and flew to an area located southeast of the airport at 500 feet AGL, and conducted some performance checks of the gyrocopter. Once the checks were completed, the pilot continued his flight above the Bohicket River. While in cruise flight the engine quit. The pilot turned on the fuel boost pump and attempted an engine restart. The engine started and quit again. The pilot switched fuel tanks, attempted another engine restart with negative results, and initiated an emergency descent to the river. The gyrocopter rolled over on its left side and started to sink. The pilot waited until the gyrocopter was submerged in the water, and the rotor blades had stopped turning, before he unbuckled his seat belt and exited the gyrocopter. The pilot came to the surface, swam over to the marsh area, and exited the water. A witness, who is also a helicopter pilot, stated that she heard an aircraft approaching her location and observed the gyrocopter in straight and level flight above the Bohicket River traveling toward the ocean between 75 to 100 feet AGL. The witness heard a change in engine noise as if the gyrocopter had run out of fuel, or had water in the fuel tank. The engine quit, started, and quit again. The gyrocopter entered a descent and made a forced landing to the river. The Sheriff's Department arrived at the witness' home and used her boatlift to recover the gyrocopter from the river onto her boat dock. No smell of fuel was present nor was any fuel observed draining from the gyrocopter during the recovery. Examination of the gyrocopter fuel system revealed that the seat fuel tank, and that the left and right auxiliary fuel tanks were not ruptured and no water was present. All three fuel filler caps were intact with a tight zeal. No fuel was present in the seat fuel tank. The left auxiliary fuel tank had one eighth of an inch of fuel in the fuel tank, and the right auxiliary fuel tank had one and one-quarter inch of fuel in the fuel tank. The inline fuel filter was removed and no fuel or water was present. The fuel selector was in the seat fuel tank position. The fuel selector was moved to the "side" position and about one ounce of fuel was collected, and no water was present. The carburetor bowl was removed and less than one ounce of water was present. The ignition system was examined. The distributor cap was crushed during recovery. The ignition harness was not damaged. The propeller was reinstalled and turned by hand. Valve and drive train continuity was observed, and compression and suction was obtained on all cylinders. The engine oil plug was removed, oil and water were drained from the oil sump, and other than the water, no contaminants were present. The oil filter was removed and no contaminants were present. The air filter was removed and no anomalies were noted.

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.