Aircraft Was Attempting To Land At Eagles Ridge Airport In Mississippi

Two people were fatally injured Saturday when the gyrocopter they were aboard impacted terrain while attempting to land at Eagles Ridge Airport (MS9) in DeSoto County, MS.

The Clarion Ledger newspaper reports that, according to DeSoto County Sheriff's Department spokesman Alex Coker, the two on board were 70-year-old Wayne House and his son Richard, 43.

Emergency responders were called to a grass fire at about 5:30 local time, according to the report. Love Volunteer Fire Chief Shawn Witt said that he first thought it was simply a brush fire, but as he approached the scene he saw the aircraft's rotor and one of the victims. He contacted the FAA and NTSB to check for missing aircraft.

The main wreckage was located about an hour later in a wooded area near the airport.

According to FAA records, the aircraft N481ZK was a homebuilt experimental Sparrow Hawk rotorcraft. It was registered to Wayne House of Southaven, MS. The two-place aircraft was powered by a 4-cycle Subaru engine.

No other information about the accident was immediately available.

FMI: Original report