Amateur-built CB2000 accident near Reserve, Louisiana, September 21, 2014
On September 21, 2014 at about 10:20 pm local time, a 2003 amateur-built CB2000 (gyroplane), registered N5002E, was destroyed in an accident during initial climb near Reserve, Louisiana (St. John The Baptist Parish airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the flight control rod bearing due to an undetected preexisting corrosion-induced crack, which resulted in the main rotor blades going to full pitch and the rotor mast folding; this allowed the pusher propeller to strike and sever the tail.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 21, 2014 · about 10:20 pm local time
- Place
- Reserve, Louisiana · St. John The Baptist Parish · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built CB2000, built 2003
- Registration
- N5002E · no longer on the register · serial H2-02-13-546
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Witnesses reported observing the gyroplane take off from the runway, turn left onto the crosswind leg, and climb to about 200 ft. They then saw something fall off the gyroplane before it crashed into an adjacent canal and sank. Postaccident examination revealed that the flight control rod bearing stud exhibited extensive corrosion, consistent with the crack being present before impact. When the rod bearing failed, the main rotor blades went to full pitch, which placed an excessive load on the rotor mast. The rotor mast then folded, which allowed the pusher propeller to strike and sever the tail. The pilot had owned the airplane for 3 years; no records for the gyroplane were located.
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
What happened, in order
- Part(s) separation from AC during initial climb defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during uncontrolled descent
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Flight control system › Control column section › Failure
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft propeller/rotor › Main rotor system › Main rotor blade system › Failure
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft structures › Empennage structure › Vertical stabilizer › Failure
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Inspection › Scheduled/routine inspection › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 260 hours in all; 10 in this make and model; 40 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Last inspection: condition inspection
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Subaru 2200 cc (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 1L0 Reserve LA at 10:20 pm
- Destination: 1L0 Reserve LA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35, 3,999 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 050° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from KMSY, 18 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
13 documents, released by the NTSB on April 27, 2015. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Other NTSB records under N5002E the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.