Amateur-built AIR COMMAND 532 accident near Okeechobee, Florida, April 7, 1990
On April 7, 1990 at about 9:11 pm local time, a amateur-built AIR COMMAND 532 (gyroplane), registered N532RC, was destroyed in an accident near Okeechobee, Florida (Okeechobee County 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
PILOT'S DECISION TO ATTEMPT TO FLY THE GYROCOPTER WITHOUT PROPER TRAINING RESULTING IN THE INFLIGHT LOSS OF CONTROL AND SUBSEQUENT CRASH.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 7, 1990 · about 9:11 pm local time
- Place
- Okeechobee, Florida · Okeechobee County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AIR COMMAND 532 AIR COMMAN
- Registration
- N532RC · no longer on the register · serial FAC-10
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
PLT HAD RECEIVED ONLY APROX. 1 HOUR TOTAL GYROCOPTER FLIGHT TIME AND APPROX. 15 MINUTES OF DUAL INSTRUCTION AND HAD NOT BEEN SIGNED OFF FOR SOLO FLIGHT. PLT HAD EXPIRED MEDICAL CERTIFICATE AND NO RECORD OF HAVING RECEIVED A BIENNIAL FLIGHT REVIEW. GYROCOPTER HAD NO RECORD OF HAVING CURRENT INSPECTION. PLT INADVERTENTLY LET GYROCOPTER PORPOISE RESULTING IN MAIN ROTOR RPM SLOWING AND MAIN ROTOR BLADE CONTACTING ROTOR HEAD AND PROPELLER. ALL CONTROL WAS LOST AND GYROCOPTER DESCENDED OUT OF CONTROL COLLIDING WITH THE GROUND. NO POST CRASH EVIDENCE OF FAILURE OF THE STRUCTURE, FLIGHT CONTROLS, OR ENGINE.
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: 251 hours in all; 1 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: None (expired)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 596 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 532 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:58 pm from FPR, 30 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.