Fatal Crash of Gyroplane Immediately After Takeoff

Pride is for the night clubs and occasional gatherings where you strut into a crowd with that uniform from the shoulder-boards to the piping on the sleeves and show the wide grin and tell the "war stories" to the delight of crowds and your pick of girls to dance with or "whatever"... haha... There just isn't any room for it in the pilot's seat of an airplane... ;o)

This is a great retrospective I will pass along to my son, whose dream is to have a career like yours.

@Mike S Fool

@@gnarthdarkanen7464 That is not pride, that is immaturity

@@bryantsmith1295 Thank you sir, I appreciate it. And please, relay to your son to never give up, regardless of how improbable things may appear, or what ANYONE may say. I have never seen a bleaker time to be pursuing an airline career then when I took my first flight lesson, Jimmy Carter had decimated the military, and there were thousands of Air Force pilots that where now decommissioned and clambering to be hired by the airlines during the worst economic times I’ve ever witnessed. It may have taken me almost ten years but it came true. Funny thing was, even after I was hired some people told me I just got lucky. I just responded with the old, but very true cliché; The harder I tried the luckier I got. Please give him my best.

I doubt this individual has learnt humility despite his fate.

I do wonder - are doctors more apt to get into trouble flying GA...? Perhaps a gross generalization but being the smartest most capable guy in the (operating) room then transitioning to relative noob in the sky forced to learn from others is likely hard to stomach. He sounds like a particularly stubborn jackass whose fate was sealed well before the accident but I still feel bad for almost anyone having to watch the ground coming up fast and knowing it’s your last seconds alive. Belated RIP and condolences to loved ones.

@@motorv8N I don't think it mentions he's a medical doctor. The current president's wife is a Dr. Of education; supposedly. Not a Ph.D. its an Ed.D.

Interestingly, airline pilots are restricted from flying to types/versions of the same aircraft. Or two different types of aircraft. You probably already knew that. Here, we see why that is.

@@CheaddakerT.Snodgrass one one the later comments said he was a medical dr. I’ve been around a lot of Drs. Some are brilliant others are risk takers who are great at memorization skills which is all you need to be an average or below average dr. I’ve seen guys like this in aviation and sports cars. I used to track a lot and this type of Dr would buy the most expensive fastest car then not develop the skill to drive it safely. That’s why we have models that are known to be Dr killers. Some average Drs are good at making money and gaming the system, and they’re the ones who get killed. I also know Drs who are brilliant developed new methods and procedures to help others-true scientists. But as an engineer I’ve seen some Drs that overestimate everything about their skill set. I don’t know it just attracts these kinds of people. There are also Drs who are good Drs and just plain family men. But medicine does attract those who like money and fast things

Nailed it.

There is no way he survived that impact.

The instructor is lucky he didn't die flying with him.

@@CCW1911 Back in the day, I trained in a Parsons with a 0320 Lycoming without a horizontal stabilizer, pushing us around the sky. The instructor and owner of the machine had installed a stiff spring in the control stick in the front students cockpit so the instructor had the ability to overpower the students stick input if necessary to save both of their hides. Pretty smart.

@@robinmyman She's talking about the Silverlight employee who visited the pilot.

Yep Pilots who have the "its my way" of doing things even though its not necessarily the right way typically end up dead. Thankfully his arrogance only killed himself.

Arrogant prick. Screw 'em. Treated the tech/mechanic/company pilot like he was a pissant stable boy. I have been around too many of these primadonnas in and around aviation and they think they are better than others because they can afford the more expensive toys. Especially the 'V-Tail Bonanza killers'.

You know the Beech A-35 is called the V-tailed Doctor Killer. It is a very high performance aircraft. Doctors and lawyers share a few traits. Many have the resources to buy high performance machines, flying or otherwise. They sometimes, because of the demands of their professions do not have the leisure time to maintain proficiency. They also believe they can reason or think their way out of a bad situation when they really need to fly the aircraft as they were taught without over thinking. Just do it!

Well said.

Definitely sounds like something a nurse would say

@@wysoft you must be a doctor. ?

I agree with the nurse

Narcissist's don't make good pilots unfortunately.

I know this type. I am not fond of them.

I hope so. The occasional “you just exploit death for clicks” accusation notwithstanding, the entire point of this channel is to help prevent the same or similar from happening to others. I am convinced that transparent and accessible disclosures of the facts advance that goal and increase safety. As a society, the worst thing that we can do when tragedy strikes is to limit the ability of others to learn from it. I am proud of the fact that my work is used by the United States Air Force, German Air Force, multiple ARFF training centers, and countless flight schools around the world. To the “making money off of tragedy” people: this channel operated at a loss for the majority of its existence. I wish it hadn’t, but it did.

@@WhatYouHaventSeen screw the haters. They're usually just miserable people that go looking to be offended. You're doing a public service by educating people on what not to do, Because we can't possibly live long enough to make all the mistakes ourselves, and you better be able to learn from other people's or you won't be around long enough to learn. Love your work, both channels. Thanks.

@@russguffee6661 What's the other channel? Thanks in advance man.

@@ScumfuckMcDoucheface Real World Police. I found this out on accident a while ago because of identical editing style lol

@@WhatYouHaventSeen I have watched many of your videos and I must say that what you are doing is offering a valuable resource for all of us. This case is proof that if we get too comfortable and forget to leave our egos at home serious problems await us. These lessons can be applied to all aspects of life but are most valuable to those in the field of aviation where the stakes are higher. You have never shown anything for pure shock value! The many camera angles and slow-motion replays are important to back up the conclusion that is reached in the investigation. The pages of the official reports and witness statements are also proof that this is NOT for shock value. At times some of us are able to determine the cause of the accident at the beginning of the video but there are many people who can not. These videos are no different than the ones I saw during my safety training at the airport. I will say it again, these videos ARE a valuable resource for everyone who watches them. They will remain valuable until people stop having accidents. As for you making a profit, to that I say, No one works for free. Those people who make safety videos for the airport and other companies make a profit as well. Thank you for your hard work and dedication!

Keep all doctors away from T-tail Bonanzas and gyrocopters.😬👍

@@johnschneider4160 Keep all people away from “V” tail Bonanzas. Only rich actors can afford to fly nowadays and of course our politicians doing it on our dime.

Exactly. And as a rotorhead, you realize that each helicopter you eventually get endorsed on, have their little quirks and idiosyncrasies that you must recognize, adjust, and master ie Clockwise/counterclockwise rotation, right/left power pedal, steam gauge to EFIS, right pic seat to left, NOTAR, Fenestrom, T/R etc. Heck, even though the Hughes 500E is the same endorsement of a D model, I was a bit embarrassed to say that I found their flight characteristics completely different(the D being considerably lighter and faster), so I asked the company for an extra 1hr with a check pilot to go over all the emerg procedures, airwork, and ground school, and just treat it as a new bird on my ticket? No helicopter company in my experience, would EVER say no to that, nor should any pilot feel ashamed to ask? It is a shame however, that this chap had an expert fly all that way, only to refuse valuable instruction. Caution over error is my motto!

nothing of importance was lost except a fine aircraft. good thing he didn't kill anybody else.😑

Looks like it was the highway that did him in...

Agree, no place worse to hit than the ground.

Except for a crowded area with people standing or sitting around.

@@terrallputnam7979 Yes true ..but I meant for the survivability of the pilot

From that height, any spot is fatal.

From the pictures, video and description it appears he hit the dirt first. Pulled some fence and the debris "traveled" or "bounced" forward maybe 5-10 feet or so into the cement ditch. The videos show a distinct fairly symmetrical cloud of dust upon impact. Fortunately he didn't crash onto the highway. The ditch looks like it prevented any major debris from actually going onto the highway lanes.

I’m sure his family appreciates your callous analysis.

@@JamiefromHali Truth doesn't take "feelings" into account. Maybe the next pilot, that blows off such wonderful help being offered to them, just before shoving that throttle full-open, against ALL advice, to include his own son/daughter's? Will think twice, and NOT do with this pilot did, and will survive. THAT is what's important here. Not some person who get's off trying to guilt people about their comments, like you.

@@rickrickard2788 100% man, the above commenter totally missed the point. I myself can love a family member and still think they are and idiot, if they had the pilots attitude. Losing them in a stupid preventable accident would be sad, but less so than an incident that wasn't caused by their ego.

We can all learn, but the ones who need to heed this lesson are only listening to themselves and will never learn from others.

Actually these craft can make a great deal of mistakes. Trouble with this particular craft is the 140hp engine. It's a rocket ship. In the old days our under powered VW and Subaru powered gyros doing that aggressive take off would have resulted about 10 seconds later crashing at low speed behind the power curve but walking away. This craft with 140 hp one up just powered through his hideous take off and had both very fast and very high when his lack of control pushes him straight through his own rotors. But yes I agree with your general point. That machine if handled with respect would have power that could save you in say an extreme microburst of get you over an obstacle but in his case unmatched in his abilities with the machine it made matters worse. Like assuming g because you have the money for a Ferrari you have the skills to drive one.

Darwin is a cruel mistress.

Never get in an aircraft flown by a doctor.

@@TheOwenMajor never!

@@TheOwenMajor I wouldn't even see this doctor for medical reason let alone be his passenger in an aircraft.

You'd be surprised how many people are not like you.

Yep marks under the rotor and all 4 prop blades sheered without any dirt in them. Over control most likely.

Excellent observations

143 stark naked on a scale at 6am...fully loaded with food and clothes 150 easy...

@@nevadaracer00V His point still stands. It's a big transition from fully loaded to right at mins. Even small airplanes fly wildly differently single pilot, low fuel. Sounds like gyros are a lot worse.

@@nevadaracer00V I suspect the weight imbalance was only an incidental issue. The real problem is the fact that the drag from the rotor and the thrust from the prop are not in line. This generates an upward pitching moment in the aircraft. While I am not a pilot, what I can say is that with a powerful engine, applying excess power on top of more power than you already need will make the thing want to do more than just pitch up once the proverbial excrement hits the air circulator. Once it starts to roll over it will make the whole aircraft want to revolve around the rotor in unusual ways since they are what it is trying to overcome, and if the pilot panics and applies even _more_ power to avoid crashing it generates a vicious a feedback loop, which is basically what we see in the video.

@@bhc1892 gyros actually have a fairly wide range if side by side as you are almost directly under the head. Tandems may not be so forgiving not sure. You can fly a side by side one or two up with just a little back stick or neutral dual. He's unloaded the rotor here it's a matter of why...

"with dead doctor pilots" and there seems to be a lot of them.....

Yea that was my comment - this guy had a twin Cessna why bother with something that can kill you?

The seat tank is there for a reason. In a roll over its the most protected spot it's less likely to rupture. All aircraft fly by following the laws of physics involved. Learn how these laws apply and get proper training and they are very safe, especially in an engine failure. However like helicopters and powered hangliders and powered parachutes they do not work when unloaded in negative g. They are also far more stick free stable in all conditions compared to fixed wings so can be flown in extreme weather conditions if experienced. However they have limited stick fixed stability. So let the think fly itself and its more stable than any fixed wing but start jabbing at the stick and it'll do exactly what you ask and quickly including flying through your own rotor if you ask it to. It's no harder to avoid than yanking the wheel on the freely and running into a tree but you need to learn how to fly it with pressure not chucking it about. I've have 4 engine related emergency landings 2 complete engine outs. I landed both of those in less than a foot. I'd suggest my chances of rupturing my seat tank doing 5mph or less at touchdown is much lower than rolling over hitting a stump or pothole at 40mph + and puncturing the fuel tank while I hang suspended upside-down.

@@jimsteinway695 you think you can't die in a twin. I was walking to work near our local airport and saw a plume of black smoke where a twin went in due to a single engine failure too low and in high drag low altitude. Crashed into a cement factory both on board dead.

@@jimsteinway695 If you ignore the right things a twin Cessna or any other aircraft will kill you just as quickly.

There is no "safe" location for doubt fuel tanks. Aircraft have fuel on board, and it's flammable, and it is closer than you think - that's all you need to know. Consider this; aircraft typically employ wing tanks, and/or nose tanks.. High wing fuel tanks are just above and beyond your shoulders, low wing fuel tanks are just below and beyond your butt, and nose tanks are almost in your lap. Have a nice flight!

lots of cnuts who cannot accept as valid others experiences. especially of the medical or MBA persuasion... 🙄

And it rings true every time.

Absolutely you read some of these comments "I wouldn't fly one of those..." any aircraft type that has people who've been flying safely for decades and these have been flying since 1923! Must fundermentally work. You just have to know how. The smaller machines have also been flown safely for decades by many but you have to follow the principles related to this type of flying. Just because you can build one doesn't mean you can fly one. Just because you can fly one type doesn't mean you can fly another. The 915 is what 140hp? That's a heap! His previous experience might have been is a 912s 100hp. Chalk and cheese.

@@cameronlapworth2284 Unless there is structural failure, I always read that gyroplanes were inherently safer to fly than fixed wing aircraft. But like all aircraft, it has a flight envelope. For some reason the pilot didn't fly within it.

@@channelsixtysix066 there's a seemingly paradox with gyros. Their stick free stability is pretty much better than anything. That is leave them fly themselves and they are amazingly stable. My instructor once did a demo for a bloke who'd been trained not to use rudder outside of take off and landing. He took it off and took his hands off the stick and flew a whole circuit including landing using power and rudder. Now his machine was well trimmed had proper 3 degrees downthrust etc. The see saw teetering rotors compensate for differences in lift from the advancing and retreating blades. Consider you are doing 50mph and your rotors tip speed is 350mph. Your blade going forward (advancing) would be doing 350+50 and the retreating moving will be doing 350-50 so 300 twice the forward speed. But the blade with more lift will rise washing off angle of attack and the retreating will teeter down increasing its angle of attack equalling the lift. Now consider you fly the machine into a thermal on say one side in a fixed wing that wing lifts righ? It will on a gyro too but in doing so rising across the teeter it automatically drives the opposite rotor and equals the lift. Difference is therefore zero. The lift amounts to lift across the while disk so the machine will rise but you won't feel it in the airframe other than a slight change in geometry between the disks total lift, amount of downthrust and the cg. Result is even a massive thermal will dip my nose maybe 2cm and when it does (remember this is not the rotor moving its the airframe reacring to difference in lift) so if I leave the stick alone it will actually move in the correcting direction. It's bizarre having flown in ultralights were the merest wife of turbulence sees you actively flying and hitting a thermal so big my 35mph cruise get hit with a thermal so big my hall gauge was topped off at over 80mph and I'm now idling and still climbing at well over 1500ft/min and all the airframe does is dip 2cm and carry on violently climbing but flat. However and this is what you don't hear from promoters of gyros advertising the true benefits of their excellent stick free stability. They have close to neutral stick fixed stability unlike fixed wings. A HS on a fixed wing actually resists pilot input. Gyros rotor system actually twist the rotor into new angle of attack. If you get a ruler and hold it it the middle of forefinger and thumb your finger and thumb are the teeter block let's say the blades are fore aft you tilt your hand forward the rotor will stay in place (because the real one has bushings there) but as you rotate around with that angle the blades twist with the retreating having a higher angle and the advancing a lower so they literally fly into a new plane of rotation. It's a little twist and the rotors are now moving the whole disk which pulls the airframe with it. The only thing resisting this is the blades chordwise balance and zero moment aerofoil. This is why wooden blades are far more stable the chord weight resists the change of angle so it's a smoother transition. This also means inputs don't have to be very big and they will build until you correct unlike a fixed wing in which the aircraft is actively fighting you. So they way you can think about this is pitts special lightness of touch and requirement to correct any dramatic movement you make but leave the stick alone and is the most rock solid thing you could fly. I often flew in conditions that had all the fixed wings at my airstrip grounded. I have literally taken off vertically across the narrow grass runway and landed after hovering over the middle and just easing off power. But you fly with gentle pressure. Now they aren't a death trap if you are trained you can toss the about in complete safety if you have the correct training and you know the aircraft. That he was aggressive on the stick iand throttle ndicates he was either poorly trained originally or he was in some form of cognitive decline or both. That's a very long way of explaining that yes the are more stable than fixed wings by far but they are also as responsive as the lightest planes and are stick fixed neutral so aggressive flying requires understanding the machine. I used to instruct in gyrogliders (towed behind cars) a primary trainer. I'd do a demo before I'd let them have control. I'd tell them the watch my hand on the stick and I'd call the turns left right left etc. They could never see my hand move and the turns would get progressively more dramatic. Now it was a bit of a cheat as I was towed behind a car and the gyro didn't want to stay say left so as I eased out slowly on the first turn I'd ease pressure and it would want to come back it would build speed and I encouraged it with gentle pressure in the direction we qe already heading so it would go too far out the other side so I was using timing of pressure to build energy I to what I was doing but I did it all with movement too small to see. That tended to impress on them not to over control. But they usually did anyway until they got the feel. Once you can feel the stick it talks to you and you can be more aggressive if you want to but you never have to move it much. They are very easy to fly once you have that knack but you have to fly by pressure. Sounds hard but isn't but it's a trap if either not trained, trained to fly by the numbers or aggressive with less feel than balls. Easy to fly but stability wise the exact opposite of a fixed wing. Nothing better I'm rough and bumpy conditions far far more stable than a chopper which are both stick fixed and stick free unstable. You need to fly them like a gyro. You do this won't happen. To me what was being described was the equivalent of getting in your first Ferrari gunning the gas taking it up to 209moh and then jamming the wheel full right and being surprised you ended up wrapped around a tree.

@@cameronlapworth2284 Thank you so much for your reply, Cameron. I've copied and saved it as a document for further reference. I'd like to see a modern development of the Rotodyne in the 21st. C. It was decades ahead of its time and now the technology has caught up. Its time has arrived. Terrible decision of the UK government to have everything to do with it, destroyed. Cold War paranoia played its part. Again, thank you so much for your reply, it was a very interesting read and something I can go back to for an expert account. Cheers.

Thanks for sharing your story about the doctor.

As a physician who is not a surgeon, it doesn’t surprise me of his attitude. We have a saying in medicine, doctors should stay out of aviation. We had a surgeon from our state die from a horrible plane crash and took his step son and the son’s wife (who was a physician also) with him. Risky and cocky behavior! Very tragic!

I'm confused, the reports refer to a Dr. Mauro, Who's Dr. Canto?

@@hogi99 Mr. Dal Canto was Dr. Mauro's son. 🙂

@@pkeelan56 I'm an attorney and have been in aviation all my life and as a kid fueling aircraft at 16 I have found that Doctors really like Beech Bananza's especially the V-tailed Bananza or Forked Tail Doctor killers because of all the accidents I have read or heard about were doctors in their Bananza's doing IFR approaches in total IMC weather because they think they are invincible.

too true! LOL...might have seen it referenced elsewhere....LOL

Hey, that's pretty clever!

also not many old 'stupid, arrogant' pilots.....

This is so true. Our neighbor was a commercial pilot and had a private aircraft as well. He bought an ultralight to fly from his private strip. His first flight in the ultralight was his last. It was determined that it was pilot error. He had bought it used from a private owner and never had any kind of training. I remember my dad talking to him when he brought it home. He told my dad that it was basically the same as flying his other aircraft and that it wouldn't be a problem. One neighbor said he crashed because he was drunk but that wasn't the case. However, it probably didn't help. He took off, tried to climb too quickly, stalled, and we watched him fall out of the sky. I think I was 5 or 6 at the time.

what's the difference between gyro and helicopter?

@@dabneyoffermein595 A helicopter's rotor is powered directly by the engine. The rotation provides lift, and inclining the rotor disk forward, backwards, or to the side imparts motion on the aircraft. The "tail rotor" is also powered, usually by a shaft coming off the main rotor transmission, and is there to control torque. A Gyrocraft (or "Autogyro" as they were known back in the '30s) has no direct power to the rotor. It's free-rotating. The motor powers a propeller that imparts forward motion to the aircraft. As the aircraft moves forward, aerodynamic forces cause the rotor to turn, which creates lift. Torque and flight attitude is controlled by control surfaces as in a fixed-wing aircraft. The big thing to remember is that a helicopter can hover, because it has a motor turning it's rotor. A gyrocraft *cannot* hover, because it *must* be moving forward for the rotor to turn. Hope I got that right 😋

@@christopherreed4723 thanks so much, so the rotor is not driven by anything shaft related, its just on ball-bearings and uses ONLY forward travel to spin, and if so , I'm blown away by that.

@@dabneyoffermein595 It does sound shaky as hell, but aerodynamically it's apparently solid.

If they could make money from it, you'd get notified...

Dead. When they're testing blood out of his thoracic cavity/heart, and examining brain matter, he didn't make it.

Specimens bile, blood (cavity), blood (femoral), blood (subclavian), brain, gastric, heart, kidney, liver, lung, muscle, spinal fluid, spleen, urine.

Was it a clear view of himself? Because he was the problem. I don't mean to keep harping on that but how many times do we have to see people let their egos get them into trouble before people wake up?

@@Jonathan.D not sure. But from the video, to me it looks like he thought he was too slow... nosed down.. then continued to lift off. And then the voice says he had full rudder.. so no idea what the pilot was thinking. Just observing that as a pilot, if you identify something isnt right.. cut throttle, apply brakes and abort. I havr aborted a few times due to birds over flying on take off roll and i aborted and taxiid back.

@@av8or971 In his report the Technician helping him stated that this gyro would tend to lift the nose before reaching takeoff speed. So it was recommended way to hold the nose down at the right level until takeoff speed was reached. It was noted that the Dr was not proficient at performing the recommended technique and preferred to do it his way. He wanted to just jam the throttle and pull back when he reached up to speed. With the more powerful motor on this gyro, he ran the risk of outrunning the rotor doing that. He needed to leave his ego at home, take the advice of the instructor, and get more practice time in the aircraft. He was a victim of his own hubris. This can happen to anyone if we don't take the time to think about the repercussions. The report is worth reading for anyone flying aircraft or not.

@@Jonathan.D Good information to know. thanks for sharing.

Yep, spying on everyone, from everywhere....Hmmm Move to China if that what you love people watching ..

So that’s why my wife has been trying to lose her wedding ‘ring’! To think all this time she was wanting to ditch me!🤣

I am no pilot but as the saying goes: There are old pilots and bold pilots but their aren't any Old Bold Pilots. RIP.

KZhead has helped me get over that one too..

@@alasdair4161 yup - as well as owning a motorcycle.....

Are you comparing a gyrocopter to a plane?? Seriously??

Popular Mechanics magazines ignited the dreams of many of us! Lol

@@saito125 yeah gyros are much better.

You are right about one thing you won't survive unloading them. Other aircraft you won't survive unloading them helicopters and powered hang gliders. You just don't do neg g. Not hard to avoid you just need proper training. On all the rest you are just wrong. Gyros have excellent stick free stability making them much safer to fly in violent weather than helicopters and fixed wings. They cannot stall or spin at low speeds you can descend vertically at the speed of a parachute unlike a fixed wing. I knew a guy landed one in an 80ft strangler fig tree and climbed down an idiot yes but alive. Had he been in a fixed wing he'd have hit those trees at 40mph and plummeted to his death. So gyros are stick free significantly better than ANY fixed wing but they are pretty close to neutral in terms of stick fixed stability and have very light stick feel one up or in a single seater like a chopper. So leave the stick alone fly with sympathy more like riding a bike than driving a car and they are lovely. Fly like a moron and it'll kill you real quick.

I don't know or pretend to know the stats but my wild ass guess is 75% or more of generation aviation / recreation pilots are over 70. Time, expendable income, retirement, etc.

​@@aircraftadventures-vids Definitely not. But in NTSB reports, that sounds about right.

Your information is not accurate. He was already an experienced gyro pilot, just not in that model/configuration.

@@mikehanratty4300 Well if he had experience - Transitioning into different models, especially one you just got, should be a well thought out and planned process. Seems he was doing things like a maverick. Cost him dearly.

@@rtmdlawncare5774 He thought his previous experience in the other two gyros was all he needed. The trainer tried to point out to him that this gyro had different characteristics than the previous one did but he didn't want to listen.

He was Gyro rated he owned a previous gryo it said that was side by side configuration this one was a tandom.

@@Jonathan.D Clearly he was the worst type of student.

Absolutely you've nailed it. Most accidents like this happen long before the final act. He was dealing with overcontrolling he'd done on that take off. It caught him 500ft but the sequence started on takeoff.

another pilot error

@@dabneyoffermein595 No. Fire in the cockpit.

@@Aviator168 omg, holy crap...wonder what could have caused it

What's the probable cause?!?

@@DeathBlossom867 He'll probably say it was attempted murder. Maybe some connection to Hugo Chavez or D.B. Cooper.

@@DeathBlossom867 This one is easy, even from a fixed-wing pilot perspective. It's very obvious in this video, too. If you read it.

😏👌

Nah, that big of an airbag would have bounced him to the moon 🤣

Not human controlled but automated air-taxis are coming.

@@Kenriko Do you know at whose expense? GA

@@jamesharris9816 Why does it have to be at someone's expense? If they broaden the market then just more people have access. Maybe some helicopter pilots can be put into more useful roles (like medivac) once they are not flying rich dudes around but that's a really small chunk of the market anyway.

@@Kenriko Its already in the works at the think tank level. For safe automated flight including taxi and delivering packages, the weekend warriors will have to go. Future GA will be commercial only. Lets hope they don't get their way.

@@jamesharris9816 They can pry my yoke out of my cold dead hands.

The reports of his over controlling are more than enough to explain the accident. However if there was some neurological reason behind this? He needed the brake modified, why? If he didn't have proper fine motor skill he may have lacked the delicate feel needed to fly a gyro. You fly with stick pressure rather than movement.

@@cameronlapworth2284 The report states that he had “mangled” a finger and knuckle on one hand in a skiing accident. It was described as a mechanical inability. No indication of a “motor skill” issue.

@@bw162 ah I missed that. Just poor piloting technique.

@@cameronlapworth2284 an injury to his hand, precluded him from the STRENGTH neccesary to hold the wheel brakes. That he still competes in skiing, speaks to a competitive nature not accepting of critiicism let alone the authority nature of his profession.

@@sandymichaud6849 All possible criticisms. You left one out…pilots are also known as control freaks and ego centric. Does that describe you? Being competitive is an attribute. Being a doc doesn’t necessarily mean HE had the generalized personality anymore than any one individual pilot is ego driven. Rather than these generalizations being applied to a successful doc and pilot, all I would like to have heard is other evidence than just his behavior as described in this reported accident. He has a history that preceded this accident. I would like to have known more of it before applying damning generalizations.

I’m sure you mean son and…. Was NOT onboard!😉

@@57Jimmy ARGH! Thank you. Prayers to his son and family.