Police: Gyrocopter crashes on runway at York Airport

A 58-year-old man was taken to the hospital after a gyrocopter he was operating crashed on the runway Thursday morning at York Airport in Jackson Township, police said. 

The gyrocopter was a single-seat aircraft. It was being flown by an Abbottstown man, who is a licensed pilot, according to a news release from Northern York County Regional Police. The pilot, whose injuries are not life-threatening, has not been identified.

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The man was practicing takeoffs when the gyrocopter crashed about 7:30 a.m. He was approximately 6 inches off the ground and was returning to the runway when, for unknown reasons, the aircraft unexpectedly tilted, police said.

A blade on the propeller made contact with the ground. The contact caused the gyrocopter to roll and come to rest in a field off of the runway, the release said.

The Federal Aviation Administration was notified of an experimental aircraft crash, police said.

— Ron Musselman can be reached at rmusselman@yorkdispatch.com or via Twitter at @ronmusselman8.