BY CALVIN D. CORDOVA
CEBU CITY – A French-Australian national was killed after the gyrocopter that he piloted crashed in Argao town, southern Cebu on Thursday afternoon.
Ferris Kauley, 65, died on the spot after suffering severe injuries in the head, said Police Capt. Jeremie Shiella Gurtiza, chief of the Argao Police Station.
Gurtiza said the incident happened around 4:40 p.m. shortly after the gyrocopter has taken off.
A gyrocopter or autogyro is an aircraft that uses a freely rotating rotor as a wing.
“According to some residents, the wheels of the gyrocopter hit the fence of the runway. It was possible that the pilot lost control of the aircraft after the wheels hit the fence,” said Gurtiza.
The gyrocopter landed on trees about 500 meters from the victim’s house.
The victim was still in his seat when residents found the badly damaged aircraft.
Gurtiza said there were two runways in the house but the victim took off not from the runway that he would usually use.
“He probably used the other runway because it was windy at the time,” said Gurtiza.
There were no indications of foul play but police will investigate the incident further, Gurtiza said.
Gurtiza said the victim would usually fly the gyrocopter every afternoon.
Gurtiza said Kauley reportedly owned 12 gyrocopters that were registered with concerned agencies.
Kauley was a pilot since 1986. He started offering gyrocopter rides in Lapu-Lapu City before he and his Filipino wife relocated to Barangay Lagtang, Argao in November 2015.
In Argao, the foreigner offered his gyrocopters for tourism packages in which a 10 to 15 minutes ride would cost at least P2,000. (Calvin D. Cordova)
