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December 4, 2001
We’re all in favor of DIY engineering projects, but when it comes to garage-built aircraft, safety is critical. That’s the lesson pilot Joe Goetz learned late last month when he had to crash-land his homemade helicopter in the middle of a Mesa, AZ, neighborhood.
Goetz miraculously walked away from the crash unscathed, and says he plans to retire his homemade Helicycle. The kit-built craft from Eagle R&D is a single-seat, semi-rigid main rotor helicopter.
Strangely enough, another homemade helicopter crashed in an open field near Westminster, MD, in late January as well. Amirkhanian Shahram of Silver Spring was the sole occupant of the gyrocopter. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating the cause of the crash. The pilot escaped injury despite snagging a power line.
You can listen to the stunned 911 calls about Goetz’s crash in the clip at this link.
Source: Fox Phoenix
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Brian Albright is the editorial director of Digital Engineering. Contact him at [email protected].
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