Amateur-built AR-1 accident near Hawley, Minnesota, July 11, 2019
On July 11, 2019 at about 5:30 pm local time, a 2018 amateur-built AR-1 (gyroplane), registered N14968, was destroyed in an accident during maneuvering near Hawley, Minnesota (Hawley Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An in-flight loss of control and collision with terrain for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 11, 2019 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Hawley, Minnesota · Hawley Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AR-1, built 2018
- Registration
- N14968 · no longer on the register · serial 0027
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot of the gyroplane departed on a local personal flight in visual meteorological conditions at an unknown time. Several witnesses saw the gyroplane descending straight down and impacting the ground near the departure airport. All major components of the aircraft were located at the accident site. No preimpact anomalies were noted with the gyroplane. The pilot had built the gyroplane from a kit about a year before the accident. As best as could be determined from his flight records, the pilot had received about 36 hours of flight instruction in the gyroplane. Autopsy and toxicology testing of the pilot revealed no evidence of physiological impairment or incapacitation, and the reason for the gyroplane's descent and impact with terrain could not be determined.
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
- Loss of control in flight during maneuvering defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during uncontrolled descent
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › (general) › Not attained/maintained
- cause Not determined › Not determined › (general) › (general) › Unknown/Not determined
Pilot
- Certificate: private, sport pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: gyroplane
- Flight time: 43 hours in all; 43 in this make and model; 6 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 8 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Last inspection: condition inspection, July 12, 2018
- Maximum gross weight: 1,232 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912ULS (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 04Y Hawley MN at 5:30 pm
- Destination: 04Y Hawley MN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 16, 3,398 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 9 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.03 inHg
- Observation at 5:35 pm from JKJ, 13 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
11 documents, released by the NTSB on April 23, 2020. 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.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Witness Interviews Extracted from the Clay County Sheriff's Report | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Clay County Sheriff's Office, Scene Drawing | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Memorandum | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Accident Site and Its Proximity to Haweley Municipal Airport | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 5 | radar Plot on Google Earth, Depicting Flight Path of N14968 | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 6 | Excerpts from Silverlight Aviation's Parts Manual | PDF, 12 pages | View Download |
| 7 | Experimental Aircraft Airframe Logbook | PDF, 8 pages | View Download |
| 8 | Flight Instructor's Records | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
| 9 | Toxicology Report | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 10 | NTSB Form 6120.15, Release of Aircraft Wreckage | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 11 | Report Photos | PDF, 6 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.