Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

On September 3, 1993, approximately 1627 mountain daylight time, an unregistered Coen's Benson B8 impacted terrain in Aurora, Colorado. The pilot was fatally injured and the aircraft was destroyed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight.

A motorist saw the gyroplane flying at an altitude between 300 and 400 feet. He said the aircraft suddenly "rolled right, nearly inverted, and descended at approximately 80 degrees nose down." A Federal Aviation Administration inspector who went to the accident site reported all components of the aircraft were recovered, and noted the main rotor blades were bowed "conically."

Examination of the wreckage revealed several deep gouges and a scrape mark atop the engine crankcase, directly beneath the center engine mounting bolt. The engine mount was fractured. According to a University of Denver metallurgist, it appeared this fracture was due to fatigue. The remaining fractures were the result of overload. No evidence of flight control malfunction or failure was found. FATIGUE FAILURE OF THE CENTER ENGINE MOUNT THAT ALTERED THE THRUST AND LIFT VECTORS.