A man learning to fly a gyroplane was killed when the aircraft's blades broke
off and struck him in the head.
Ashley J. Godeaux, 54, of Jacksonville, was in the front seat as the 1994
double-rotor gyroplane headed down a runway at the Flagler County Airport on
Friday when the top blades broke off, striking him in the head.
The craft traveled off the runway onto a grassy area before stopping. His
instructor, Bill Ortmayer, 59, a licensed pilot from Palm Coast, was airlifted
to Halifax Medical Center. The hospital would not release information on his
condition Saturday.
Authorities were uncertain why the gyroplane's top blades broke off.
"The wind can blow them over because they're so light," said Troy Harper of
Flagler County Emergency Management.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board
were investigating the incident, said Jim Jarrell, the airport manager.
Fifty-seven gyroplane crashes were recorded nationwide in the past four years,
20 of them fatal, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
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