Fatal crash after 'rolling' in sky

Kirkbride Airfield is used by private pilots

A fatal air crash in Cumbria which left a pilot dead may have been caused by him flying too slowly, according to a new report.

The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) of the Department of Transport has published its report into the death of a gyrocopter pilot Ian Branson on 23 March 2002.

Former Army helicopter pilot Ian Branson, 55, from Wigton, suffered fatal head injuries when his single-seater machine crashed at Kirkbride Airfield near Carlisle.

The AAIB report says: "On the accident flight shortly after takeoff, G-INCH (Mr Branson's craft), was seen to climb and enter rolling manoeuvres in both directions, probably at lower than normal airspeed, before crashing on the runway."

Experienced pilot

The inquiry also revealed that the gyrocopter was in good working order, and Mr Branson was in good health.

According to the report, a witness said he saw Mr Branson carry out "exuberant manoeuvres" during an earlier flight on the day of the accident.

The AAIB investigation also reveals that Mr Branson, who had hundreds of hours of flying experience, had not flown for eight months before the accident.

The fatal crash happened when Mr Branson's Montgomerie-Bensen B8MR Gyroplane, G-INCH, which he had built himself from kit, climbed to 150 feet and began to roll to the left.

Hobby craft

It then turned and plummeted to the ground, where witnesses were on the scene in seconds.

A gyrocopter is like a microlight, but has a vertical shaft with rotors on top to provide lift and another to provide thrust.

They are not built commercially and pilots have to build their own.