Csp Leasing LLC Cavalon accident near Roseburg, Oregon, May 28, 2020
On May 28, 2020 at about 9:10 pm local time, a 2015 Csp Leasing LLC Cavalon (gyroplane), an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N477AG, was destroyed in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Roseburg, Oregon. 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
A substantially unweighted rotor system for reasons that could not be determined, which resulted in contact between the main rotor blade and the gyrocopter’s keel tube and a loss of control and impact with terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 28, 2020 · about 9:10 pm local time
- Place
- Roseburg, Oregon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Csp Leasing LLC Cavalon, built 2015, amateur-built · all Cavalons on the register
- Registration
- N477AG · no longer on the register · serial V00201
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot departed an airport on a cross country flight and had flown about 7 miles before witnesses observed the aircraft flying between 1,000 ft to 2,000 ft above ground level (agl), at which time they also heard the engine make an unusual noise as if something had come off the aircraft. They subsequently observed the gyrocopter enter an uncontrolled descent and impact terrain. One of the witnesses observed parts coming off the gyrocopter, which he believed was either the engine or the transmission coming apart. He also observed the “tail boom” break off, swing forward, and crash into the passenger side of the cockpit, which sent it into an uncontrollable spin and subsequent impact with terrain at about a 45° nose-down attitude. A postaccident examination of the gyrocopter revealed that the keel tube had signature strike marks consistent with a main rotor blade impact. This physical evidence was indicative of a substantially unweighted rotor system. This would have occurred while the aircraft was nosed over for a long period of time, at which time the rotor likely lost its directional orientation and spun out of axis and struck the keel tube. However, the duration of any nose over made by the gyrocopter during the accident flight could not be determined due to a lack of available evidence. The parts that departed the gyrocopter inflight were not identified during the investigation.
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
What happened, in order
- Loss of control in flight during enroute (cruise) defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during uncontrolled descent
- Inflight upset during enroute (cruise)
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft propeller/rotor › Main rotor system › Main rotor blade system › Unknown/Not determined
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: sport pilot
- Ratings: rotorcraft: gyroplane
- Flight time: 379 hours in all; 76 in this make and model; 298 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Sport Pilot (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 922 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 914ULS (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 16S Myrtle Creek OR at 8:55 pm
- Destination: SHN Shelton WA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.90 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from RGB, 7 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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 N477AG the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number WPR20LA155.