AUTHORITIES PROBE FATAL CRASH OF GYROCOPTER NEAR CAIRO AIRPORT

CAIRO, Ill. -- The death of a 65-year-old Kentucky man who was flying a homemade gyro copter is being investigated, but it may never be solved, said Bill McHughs of the Alexander County Sheriff's Department.

David Spears of Kevil, Ky., died Monday when his one-seat gyro copter crashed three-fourths of a mile east of Cairo Municipal Airport near Highway 3.

"They said he was flying fine, and all of a sudden he nose dived into the dirt," said McHughs.

Spears did not have a pilot's license and was not required to under Federal Aviation Administration rules. Only those who fly aircraft weighing more than 264 pounds need a license, said John Farquhar, who has 50 years experience with the homemade copters.

Witnesses described seeing Spears take off shortly before 4 p.m. His gyro copter made a large half circle, flying for almost five minutes. The crash, from an altitude estimated between 100 and 125 feet, was abrupt, McHughs said.

An independent investigator looked at the copter and was unable to find any evidence of mechanical failure, McHughs said.

An autopsy will be conducted on the body by a forensic pathologist in Evansville, Ind., said Alexander County Coroner David Barkett.

"We may never know what caused this," McHughs said.

What remains of the gyro copter has been transferred to Mounds, where it is being stored until an official from the FAA examines it later this week, he said.

The FAA is not required to look at the gyro copter, since no license is required to fly non-passenger aircraft, Farquhar said.

"I never did understand the FAA's thinking on that," said Farquhar, who is co-owner of Mid-State Aeromotors Inc., in Cape Girardeau. "You can get killed just as easily in something that weighs a lot less than 264 pounds."

Gyro copters are no more dangerous to fly than anything else in the air, Farquhar said. But they do have certain limitations.

Although gyro copters have a motor, it does not power the rotors that lift the copters off the ground, Farquhar said. The copters' forward motion keeps their rotors turning, he said.

They can reach an altitude of 200 feet and travel within a 30-mile radius before refueling. "These are not cross-country machines," Farquhar said.

The gyro copters' biggest limitation is altitude, which makes them prone to run into telephone and power lines, he said.

Although gyro copters are nearly nonexistent in the skies of Southeast Missouri, they are popular elsewhere, Farquhar said.

As long as a novice minds a few rules, flying gyro copters isn't difficult, he said. "But every once in awhile you'll get someone who'll make a mistake," he said.