Accident to the ELA07 identified 66QN on 17/10/2019 at Torreilles (Pyrénées-Orientales)

On the day of the accident, the student pilot carried out two flights of about 30 minutes each in dual command with his instructor, from the private aerodrome at Torreilles. At the end of a third flight with four runway circuits, the instructor suggested that the student make his first supervised solo flight. The student pilot took off at about 16:15 from runway 01 for a runway circuit. At a height he estimated at 400 ft, the instructor heard a significant reduction in the engine rating and then an acceleration. The gyroplane continued to climb to an estimated height of 500 ft, corresponding to the height of the runway circuit. The instructor, in radio contact with his student, called him to find out the reasons for this variation. The student pilot immediately announced significant gyroplane vibrations. A few seconds later, witnesses saw the gyroplane, engine running, roll left and right, pitch down with a right bank, collide with the ground and catch fire.

The investigation was unable to determine the causes of the vibrations felt by the pilot and the loss of control in flight.