Amateur-built RAF 2000 GTX-SE accident near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, September 19, 2003
On September 19, 2003 at about 3:45 pm local time, a amateur-built RAF 2000 GTX-SE (gyroplane), registered N24DN, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bonners Ferry, Idaho (Boundary County airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate compensation for gusty wind conditions and his failure to maintain directional control, which resulted in the gyrocraft departing the runway and the main rotor impacting the ground. A contributing factor was wind gusts.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 19, 2003 · about 3:45 pm local time
- Place
- Bonners Ferry, Idaho · Boundary County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built RAF 2000 GTX-SE
- Registration
- N24DN · no longer on the register · serial H2-98-9-340
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot departed on a solo flight in the gyrocraft and made several practice landings before departing the pattern. On his return leg he encountered some gusty wind conditions and decided to terminate the flight. During the landing flare the gyrocraft veered to the right. The student applied full throttle and, believing the nose was going to impact the ground, pitched up into a nose high attitude. The gyrocraft's main rotor then impacted the ground and the gyrocraft came to rest on a short stub taxiway.
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
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 37 hours in all; 37 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 158 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, June 3, 2003; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,540 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Subaru EJ22 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 65S Bonners Ferry ID at 2:45 pm
- Destination: 65S
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 20, 4,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.94 inHg
- Observation at 3:50 pm from SZT, 28 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.
Other NTSB records under N24DN the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.