Bird RAF-2000 accident near Redmond, Utah, November 6, 1993
On November 6, 1993 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Bird RAF-2000 (gyroplane), an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N70334, was destroyed in an accident near Redmond, Utah (Salina-Gunnison 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 PILOT IN COMMAND'S EXCEEDING THE PROPER CLIMB RATE. A FACTOR CONTIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE PILOT'S LACK OF EXPERIENCE IN MAKE/MODEL.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 6, 1993 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Redmond, Utah · Salina-Gunnison · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bird RAF-2000, amateur-built
- Registration
- N70334 · no longer on the register · serial H2-92-3-72
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE EXECUTING TOUCH AND GO LANDINGS ON RUNWAY 20 AT THE SALINA- GUNNISON AIRPORT THE LOW TIME PILOT FREQUENTLY DIVERGED FROM THE RUNWAY'S CENTERLINE AND PASSED OVERHEAD HIS FATHER, WIFE AND A THIRD WITNESS, SITUATED BEYOND THE EDGE OF THE RUNWAY. FOLLOWING THE SEVENTH SUCH OVERFLIGHT THE GYROPLANE BEGAN A TRANSITION FROM HORIZONTAL TO VERTICAL FLIGHT REACHING AN ALTITUDE OF 200-250 FEET AGL, AND THEN DESCENDED RAPIDLY TO THE GROUND. THE FATHER, WHO WAS VIDEOTAPING THE GYROPLANE, DESCRIBED THE MANEUVER AS 'LIKE A HAMMERHEAD STALL.' WRECKAGE EXAMINATION BY FAA PERSONNEL REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION.
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: 183 hours in all; 23 in this make and model; 23 in the last 90 days; 23 in the last 30 days; 109 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 20 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, September 27, 1993; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,125 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Subaru EA82-862264 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 44U at 5:10 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 20, 3,815 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: ovct at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 16°F (-9°C)
- Observation at 6:40 pm from U24, 37 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 N70334 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.