Magniflight LLC M24 ORION accident near Valmeyer, Illinois, October 19, 2024
On October 19, 2024 at about 7:00 pm local time, a 2020 Magniflight LLC M24 ORION (gyroplane), an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N4777W, was substantially damaged in an accident during takeoff near Valmeyer, Illinois (Sullivan Field Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s loss of control due to flight control interference by the passenger during takeoff.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 19, 2024 · about 7:00 pm local time · cases in 2024
- Place
- Valmeyer, Illinois · Sullivan Field Airport · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Magniflight LLC M24 ORION, built 2020, amateur-built · all M24 ORIONs on the register
- Registration
- N4777W · registry record · serial 24192364
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Before the flight, the pilot gave a safety briefing to his passenger, and explained to the passenger to keep his feet off of the rudder pedals and to stay clear of the cyclic during takeoff. After the briefing and startup, the pilot took off in the gyroplane with his passenger for a local flight. The grass runway was bumpy, so the pilot lifted the front wheel off the ground as soon as possible and rode the main wheels until speed was built up enough to lift off. As all the wheels came off the ground, the gyrocopter started to drift to the right off of the runway. The pilot tried to correct with cyclic but was unable to move the cyclic. The gyroplane continued to move to the right and touched down in a field nose first and bounced. The gyroplane hit a concrete obstacle and sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and main rotor. The pilot believed that the passenger’s left leg interfered with the movement of the cyclic which resulted in the right drift after takeoff. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures 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 takeoff defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Use of equip/system › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Miscellaneous › (general) › (general) › Passenger
Pilot
- Certificate: private, sport pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: gyroplane
- Flight time: 859 hours in all; 108 in this make and model; 32 in the last 90 days; 24 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 775 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, May 16, 2014
- Maximum gross weight: 1,212 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 914 UL (piston); 835 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 27, 1,800 ft by 70 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.42 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from KCPS, 14 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KCPS 192053Z VRB04KT 10SM CLR 24/04 A3042 RMK AO2 SLP299 T02390039 56021
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 1 picture from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on February 21, 2025. 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 | NTSB Form 6120 Pilot Operator Report CEN25LA022 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Investigation Photograph CEN25LA022 | PDF, 2 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N4777W on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Magniflight Llc M24 5 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Engine: Rotax 914 UL 305 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Sullivan Field · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in Illinois 2,118 since 1982 · 251 in the last ten years
- Illinois 8,067 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/CEN25LA022.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.