N167SC – Groom Sparrow Hawk – 2008-07-31 NTSB Accident Report

On July 31, 2008, a Groom Sparrow Hawk (N167SC) was involved in an incident near Tulsa, OK. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The student pilot's failure to maintain control of the gyroplane. Contributing to the accident was the lack of recent flight instruction prior to the flight.

The student pilot was attempting to take off from the airfield when the gyroplane climbed out of ground effect. The pilot noted that the gyroplane did not want to climb or maintain altitude and began descend. The pilot commanded a right turn and the descent rate began to increase. The forced landing was set up in a nearby field. A hard landing was reported by the pilot and the gyroplane rolled onto its left side. The pilot was able to egress without assistance. A review of the pilot's log book revealed that the student pilot had not received an endorsement from a flight instructor within the prescribed 90 days of the solo flight. An NTSB 6120 was not submitted prior to the completion of this case.

This incident is documented in NTSB report DFW08CA208. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N167SC.