Two Wichita men killed in gyrocopter crash identified; cause remains unknown

Officers have identified the two people killed in a gyrocopter crash Tuesday in Butler County.

Kerry E. Trent, 58, was piloting the 2011 MTO Sport with Shannon W. Tucker, 53, as a passenger when for unknown reasons the aircraft crashed into a field, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. Both of the men are from Wichita.

The aircraft was headed south and crashed into a field between Whitewater and Potwin. The crash was reported at 1:45 p.m.

The two people were the only ones in the aircraft, according to 911 emergency communications. The original report was that one person died.

A gyrocopter looks similar to a helicopter but is powered differently.

In a helicopter, the top rotor is powered by an engine. The top rotor creates lift and propels the aircraft forward. A gyrocopter uses a rear propeller to push it forward, causing air to make its top rotor spin.

A gryrocopter, which is also called a gyroplane, needs very little forward speed to stay in the air, according to Plane and Pilot Magazine.

“That means that an engine failure in a gyroplane is a nonevent,” an article in the magazine says. “The craft will float down in autorotation like a parachute. A gyroplane flies in permanent autorotation. That virtue makes gyroplanes extraordinarily safe.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 2:51 PM.