Air Command UNKNOWN accident near Dodge Center, Minnesota, May 16, 1987
On May 16, 1987 at about 1:10 am local time, a Air Command UNKNOWN (gyroplane), an amateur-built aircraft,, registered UNREG, was destroyed in an accident near Dodge Center, Minnesota. 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
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
- May 16, 1987 · about 1:10 am local time
- Place
- Dodge Center, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Command UNKNOWN, amateur-built
- Registration
- UNREG · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
BEFORE FLT THE PILOT HAD STATED THAT HIS UNCERTIFIED AND UNREGISTERD GYROPLANE HAD A 'LOT OF BUGS TO WORK OUT'. AFTER T.O. AND FIVE MIN OF AIRWORK THE ACFT ENTERED A STEEP 90 DEGREE BANKED TURN AND THEN BEGAN TO TUMBLE. SHORTLY AFTER THE MAIN ROTOR SEPARATED. NO RECORD COULD BE FOUND OF TRAINING IN THIS TYPE AIRCRAFT.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 227 hours in all; 206 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 447/3648630 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 87D Dodge Center MN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.
Other NTSB records under UNREG the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.