Amateur-built SPORT COPTER VORTEX accident near Kingsland, Texas, September 19, 2021
On September 19, 2021 at about 3:00 am local time, a 2011 amateur-built SPORT COPTER VORTEX (gyroplane), registered N924WG, was substantially damaged in an accident during initial climb near Kingsland, Texas (Shirley Williams 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 diverted attention which resulted in an inadvertent descent and subsequent collision with a lake.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 19, 2021 · about 3:00 am local time
- Place
- Kingsland, Texas · Shirley Williams Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SPORT COPTER VORTEX, built 2011
- Registration
- N924WG · no longer on the register · serial 048
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that the gyroplane took off uneventfully. About 400 ft above the ground, the pilot’s hat started to blow off in the wind. Concerned his hat and headset would blow off into the pusher propeller, he adjusted his hat and headset to insure they were secure, but “lost focus on flying.” By the time he’d secured his hat and headset, the gyroplane was at too low of an altitude to recover from the descent. It impacted in a lake about ¼ mile from the departure end of the runway. The gyroplane’s main rotor assembly sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the aircraft that would have precluded normal operations.
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 initial climb defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during initial climb
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Attention › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Terrain › Water › Contributed to outcome
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot, sport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: gyroplane
- Flight time: 3,084 hours in all; 72 in this make and model; 22 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 2,868 on instruments
- Last flight review: December 7, 2020
- Medical certificate: Sport Pilot (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 363 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, December 15, 2019; 16 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 750 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 582 (piston); 363 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 16, 2,600 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.01 inHg
- Observation at 10:55 am from KDZB, 9 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KDZB 191555Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 31/20 A3001 RMK AO2 T03080202
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on January 5, 2022. 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 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | On Scene Photos - Courtesy of the Pilot's Family | PDF, 2 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.