Amateur-built GTX-SE-FI accident near Gillette, Wyoming, April 30, 2000
On April 30, 2000 at about 2:25 pm local time, a amateur-built GTX-SE-FI (gyroplane), registered N2411V, was destroyed in an accident near Gillette, Wyoming. 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 pilot's abruptly pulling the nose up at an excessive airspeed, resulting in the rotor blades striking the vertical stabilizer and a subsequent loss of aircraft control.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 30, 2000 · about 2:25 pm local time
- Place
- Gillette, Wyoming · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built GTX-SE-FI
- Registration
- N2411V · no longer on the register · serial H2-00-11-442
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Witnesses said the experimental amateur-built gyrocopter (or gyroplane) was flying low and the engine sounded like it was 'racing,' or 'sputtering,' then 'the rotors come apart in the air.' There was no evidence of the rotor blades separating in flight, but there was evidence that the blades had struck the vertical stabilizer and rudder, severing the tail boom. Two blades of the 4-blade propeller were shattered. The pilot's close friend (who assisted the pilot in building the gyrocopter) said if the pilot was flying at high speed and was to suddenly increase the angle of attack and abruptly move the cyclic control aft, the main rotor blades could conceivably strike the tail boom. The accident site was near abruptly rising terrain. On a previous occasion, the pilot accelerated to a high ground speed before increasing the angle of attack for liftoff. The rotor blades struck the runway and were damaged to the extent that they had to be replaced.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 7,884 hours in all; 31 in this make and model; 26 in the last 90 days; 22 in the last 30 days; 7,452 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 29, 2000; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,540 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Subaru EJ2.5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: NONE Gillette WY at 2:20 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:55 pm from GCC
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.