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| Date: | Saturday 29 July 2023 |
| Time: | 12:27 |
| Type: | ELA Aviación ELA 10 Eclipse |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N221EL |
| MSN: | 04175281014 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Oshkosh-Wittman Field (OSH/KOSH), Oshkosh, WI -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Oshkosh-Wittman Field, WI (OSH/KOSH) |
| Oshkosh-Wittman Field, WI (OSH/KOSH) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On July 29, 2023, about 1227 central daylight time (CDT), a Rotorway 162F helicopter, N193AZ, and an ELA Eclipse 10 gyroplane, N221EL, were involved in a midair collision near Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The helicopter was destroyed, and the pilot and passenger were fatally injured. The gyroplane was destroyed, and the pilot and passenger received serious injuries. Both aircraft were operated as Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flights.
The gyroplane and helicopter collided midair while maneuvering for landing in day visual meteorological conditions. The aircraft were participating in a fly-in event that provided daily pilot briefings on flight operations and procedures. During the briefings, event coordinators informed pilots that 360° turns in the traffic pattern were prohibited.
Flight track information, witness statements, videos, and damage to the aircraft indicated that the gyroplane impacted the left side of the helicopter while performing a prohibited 360° turn on the base leg of the visual approach. The helicopter impacted terrain, came to rest inverted, and a postaccident fire ensued. The gyroplane impacted an unoccupied airplane. The gyroplane pilot had no recollection of the accident flight.
Postaccident examinations of both aircraft revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the failure of the gyroplane pilot to see and avoid the helicopter while performing a prohibited maneuver in the traffic pattern, resulting in a collision with the helicopter.
Probable Cause: The failure of the gyroplane pilot to see and avoid the helicopter while maneuvering in the traffic pattern. Contributing to the accident was the gyroplane pilot’s performance of a prohibited maneuver in the traffic pattern.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.wbay.com/2023/07/29/reports-crash-eaa/
https://abcnews.go.com/US/helicopter-gyrocopter-collide-mid-air-wisconsin-faa/story?id=101818532
https://themessenger.com/news/breaking-fatal-plane-crash-is-oshkosh-marks-second-air-incident-in-the-past-week
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=192738
https://mooneyspace.com/topic/46170-n9391m-destroyed-at-kosh/
Location
Images:
Media:
NTSB investigating a mid-air collision between a Rotorway 162F aircraft and an ELA Eclipse 10 aircraft near Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) July 29, 2023
Updates on two accidents at and near Wittman Regional Airport on July 29 involving aircraft attending EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023:
— EAA (@EAA) July 30, 2023
Read more at: https://t.co/NivjM3ttTm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Jul-2023 19:51 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 29-Jul-2023 21:28 | RobertMB | Updated |
| 30-Jul-2023 01:02 | Captain Adam | Updated |
| 30-Jul-2023 05:35 | RobertMB | Updated |
| 30-Jul-2023 08:25 | Iceman 29 | Updated |
| 31-Jul-2023 18:48 | harro | Updated |
| 02-Aug-2023 06:44 | Anon. | Updated |
| 09-Aug-2023 19:20 | Captain Adam | Updated |
| 17-May-2024 20:07 | Captain Adam | Updated [Source, Narrative, Category] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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