Amateur-built none accident near Bunnell, Florida, March 12, 2004
On March 12, 2004 at about 11:30 pm local time, a amateur-built none (gyroplane), registered N69EP, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bunnell, Florida (Flagler County airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The owner/pilot mechanic's failure to comply with a manufacture notice to replace the rotor blades and hub bar assembly, resulting in a failure of the hub bar to hub bar wing attaching bolt and separation of a main rotor blade.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 12, 2004 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Bunnell, Florida · Flagler County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built none
- Registration
- N69EP · no longer on the register · serial 69A
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While on an instructional flight, a bolt in the main rotor blade broke separating the blade from the hub. The blade struck the student pilot resulting in fatal injuries. The responding FAA inspector stated the on-scene investigation found the hub bar wing and rotor blade had separated from the hub bar due to the failure of the hub bar wing retaining bolt head. The NTSB material lab reported the bolt that retains the hub bar wing to the hub bar was fractured in the radius between the shank and the head. Presence of fatigue arrest marks covering approximately 90 percent of the cross-sectional area. The fatigue cracks initiated from multiple origins all the way around the outer diameter surface at the bases of the radius with the head. The head contacts that hub bar without the use of a washer. A product notice number 33 was issued by Rotary Air Force (RAF) on June 18, 2001, placing a 500 hour time change factor on RAF rotor blades and hub bar "until further notice". The product notice number 33 had not been accomplished on the accident gyroplane at the time of the accident. The owner/certified flight instructor (CFI) stated the blades had a total time of about 930 hours at the time of the accident, which about 430 of those hours were of airtime. He did remember getting some kind of notice through the mail, something about a 500 hours time on the blades but the notice was not clear and too vague. If it was mandatory, a notice wound be issued stating as such. The Owner/CFI added the blades on the accident gyroplane never experience a ground strike, but did have nicks and scrape marks on the blades. A representative of RAF contacted the owner/CFI about a month after product notice 33 was issued advising of the notice and informed him about internal damage and stress that occurs if the rotor blade contacts the ground and the nature of such damage, which are undetectable. The owner/CFI stated he and RAF have had conversations; however, those discussions were more about training issues and the amount of training time the students were receiving. None of those conversations were about RAF product notice number 33 or blade strikes.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: gyroplane; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: gyroplane
- Flight time: 2,460 hours in all; 1,211 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 2,460 as pilot in command; 1,961 on instruments
- Last flight review: October 15, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: serious injuries
Dual student
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: rear
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 917.5 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 1, 2003; 13.8 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,153 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Mazda 13B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: X47 Bunnell FL at 11:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 150, 3,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.15 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from KDAB, 19 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 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.