Even so, my stomach tried to climb up my throat when I looked straight down. I remembered the debate with my mother. But I had statistics. Autogyros don't exactly have the best safety record. But most accidents come from human error, not from any failure of the machine.
People land the aircraft and forget that the rotor is still turning.
They stand up and get knocked in the head. An autogyro is quite stable in the air. If the engine fails, it simply glides to the earth unharmed. I told my mother about the stability of the machine. I didn't mention how some people get hit in the head.