Amateur-built DANAMITE accident near Smyrna, Tennessee, January 16, 2000
On January 16, 2000 at about 7:00 pm local time, a amateur-built DANAMITE (gyroplane), registered N6407C, was substantially damaged in an accident near Smyrna, Tennessee (Smyrna Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's excessive taxiing speed and failure to maintain adequate clearance from objects, resulting in the gyroplane's main rotor colliding with a fence and subsequent damage to the aircraft.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 16, 2000 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Smyrna, Tennessee · Smyrna Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DANAMITE
- Registration
- N6407C · registry record · serial 001
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that after completing the first flight in his recently constructed gyroplane that he was taxiing expeditiously back to the hangar and did not take into account the wet taxiway, or the tail wind. The pilot said that while taxiing the gyroplane the nose wheel did not turn as he would have liked, and the aircraft drifted close to a fence and the rotor made contact with the fence, destroying the aircraft. The FAA inspector who conducted a postcrash examination of the gyroplane, confirmed that the aircraft was destroyed as a result of the accident.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,211 hours in all; 1 in this make and model; 19 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 1,104 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 533 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Northrop Corp 43/8F/0-100-3 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MQY at 6:55 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 600 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:56 pm from MQY
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.