Amateur-built FG-1A accident near Mt Pleasant, Texas, June 29, 1984
On June 29, 1984 at about 6:30 pm local time, a amateur-built FG-1A (gyroplane), registered N455FG, was destroyed in an accident near Mt Pleasant, Texas (Mt. Pleasant Municipal airport). 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
- June 29, 1984 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- Mt Pleasant, Texas · Mt. Pleasant Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built FG-1A
- Registration
- N455FG · no longer on the register · serial 1
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, THE GYROCOPTER PLT TOOK OFF & TURNED ONTO A LEFT DOWNWIND TO STAY IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN FOR RWY 17. ONE WITNESS STATED THAT THE GYROCOPTER TURNED ONTO FINAL APCH AT ABOUT 300 TO 400 FT AGL. TWO OTHER WITNESSES, WHO RESIDE APRX 1/4 MI NORTH OF THE ARPT, RELATED THAT THE GYROCOPTER FLEW LOW OVER THEIR PROPERTY AT ABOUT 150 FT WHILE TURNING ONTO FINAL. BOTH REPORTED THAT THE ENG WAS OPERATING & SOUNDED NORMAL. ONE INDIVIDUAL STATED THAT THE PLT WAVED AS HE PASSED OVER HIS BACKYARD. REPORTEDLY, THE GYROCOPTER FLEW LOW OVER POWER LINES, CLIMBED TO A MORE NORMAL ALTITUDE, THEN ENTERED A STEEP DESCENT & CRASHED. ONE WITNESS SAID IT STALLED. ANOTHER SAID IT FELL LIKE A ROCK. IMPACT OCCURRED ABOUT 200 FT SHORT OF THE RWY. NO PRE-IMPACT FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND. LOCAL GYROCOPTER OPERATORS STATED THE PLT WAS TEACHING HIMSELF TO FLY DESPITE RECOMMENDATIONS TO OBTAIN INSTRUCTION.
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: 700 hours in all; 45 in this make and model; 45 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 592 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 45 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, September 1, 1983; 45 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 650 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Volkswagen TYPE 3 1835CC (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 3,800 ft by 125 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:46 pm from GGG, 43 miles away
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.