Amateur-built Rotor Flight Dynamic accident near Ashland, Kentucky, October 2, 2007
On October 2, 2007 at about 10:15 pm local time, a amateur-built Rotor Flight Dynamic (gyroplane), registered N444PD, suffered minor damage in an accident near Ashland, Kentucky (Ashland Regional Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during the landing flare resulting in a hard landing. Contributing factors were the crosswind and the pilot's failure to recover from a bounced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 2, 2007 · about 10:15 pm local time
- Place
- Ashland, Kentucky · Ashland Regional Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Rotor Flight Dynamic
- Registration
- N444PD · registry record · serial PD-1
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot he was conducting touch and go landings. During the landing flare the nose of the gyroplane drifted to the right. The pilot reported that he was not able to compensate for the winds. The gyroplane impacted the runway with the left landing gear followed by the right landing gear. The gyroplane bounced and impacted the runway again, coming to rest on its side, resulting in minor damage. The pilot sustained serious injuries. The pilot reported winds 90 degrees to the runway at 10 to 15 miles per hour. An examination of the gyroplane's structure and systems revealed minor damage and no anomalies.
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: rotorcraft: gyroplane
- Flight time: 91 hours in all; 66 in this make and model; 3 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: July 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 68 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, March 1, 2007
- Maximum gross weight: 672 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Bombardier-Rotax Type 582 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KDWU Ashland KY at 10:00 pm
- Destination: KDWU Ashland KY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 28, 5,602 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.09 inHg
- Observation at 9:51 pm from KHTS
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.