Amateur-built RAF 2000 accident near Manistique, Michigan, July 29, 2000
On July 29, 2000 at about 8:05 pm local time, a amateur-built RAF 2000 (gyroplane), registered N11ZK, was destroyed in an accident near Manistique, Michigan. 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
undetermined.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 29, 2000 · about 8:05 pm local time
- Place
- Manistique, Michigan · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built RAF 2000
- Registration
- N11ZK · no longer on the register · serial H2-93-4-107
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A gyrocopter was presumed missing after not completing a VFR flight planned flight with an assumed departure time. The aircraft has been presumed destroyed and the pilot presumed to have been fatally injured. The aircraft was fueled with 16.6 gallons of "avgas" at 1513 and was observed departing at 1545 on a southeast heading. A similar aircraft was observed flying over an island along the route of flight on a southeast heading "at about 4:05 to 4:15 PM." The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, United States Coast Guard, Civil Air Patrol, and Michigan State Police were notified and search and rescue missions were commenced. Coast Guard District 9 suspended their search at 1620Z 10 August 00. Michigan State Police suspended their search 2200Z 10 August 00. To date, the wreckage has not been 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
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: gyroplane
- Flight time: 17,600 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 1,540 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Subaru (piston); 0 hours total
- Not recorded
The flight
- Departed from: ISQ MI at 7:45 pm
- Destination: GLR Gaylord MI
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
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.