Amateur-built GYROCOPTER accident near Mt. Vernon, Ohio, October 1, 1982
On October 1, 1982 at about 8:40 pm local time, a amateur-built GYROCOPTER (gyroplane), registered N9985F, was destroyed in an accident near Mt. Vernon, Ohio (Mt. Vernon Wynkoop airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 1, 1982 · about 8:40 pm local time
- Place
- Mt. Vernon, Ohio · Mt. Vernon Wynkoop · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built GYROCOPTER
- Registration
- N9985F · no longer on the register · serial 001
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE GYROCOPTER PILOT STATED THAT HE LANDED THE AIRCRAFT HARD, BOUNCED AND THEN NOSED OVER.
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: student
- Flight time: 108 hours in all; 108 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 108 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 95 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 95 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 550 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Volkswagon (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 664 Mt. Vernon OH at 4:30 pm
- Destination: 664 Mt. Vernon OH
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; clear
- Temperature: 158°F (70°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.