Copter spirals out of control

Keith Paul

Tuesday, March 28, 2000 | 11:17 a.m.

Federal investigators will continue today to figure out what caused the crash of a one-person gyrocopter that crashed Monday at the Overton Municipal Airport killing the 85-year-old pilot.

Logandale resident Glenn Halls, an experienced fixed-wing airplane pilot, plummeted about 75 feet to the ground in his gyrocopter, made from a kit, about 11:25 a.m. Monday at the airport in Overton, located about 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

"Some eyewitnesses at the scene reported it might have had some mechanical failure," said Steve La-Sky, Clark County Fire Department spokesman.

Federal Aviation Administration officials came out to the crash site and after several hours moved the wreckage into one of the airports hangers. The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate what caused the crash, said Hilarie Grey, a Clark County Department of Aviation spokeswoman.

The crash damaged the runway, forcing the closure of the airport for at least today and Wednesday, said Debbie Millett, a county aviation department spokeswoman.

Halls also owned a single-engine, fixed-wing airplane and frequently flew the plane, Grey said.

Overton's airport, also known as Perkins Field, doesn't have a tower or air traffic controllers, so there was no radio contact from Halls, Grey said.

Perkins Field opened in 1947 and has been operated by Clark County since 1949. It has 14 small aircraft based at the airport, Grey said.

Keith Paul covers crime and public safety for the Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-4057 or by e-mail at keith@lasvegassun.com.

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