Amateur-built Bensen accident near Bryant, Arkansas, September 3, 2016
On September 3, 2016 at about 8:00 pm local time, a amateur-built Bensen (gyroplane), registered UNREG, was destroyed in an accident during approach (VFR pattern base) near Bryant, Arkansas (Saline County Regional airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s loss of gyroplane control during an intentional high-speed pass, which resulted in the gyroplane porpoising and impacting terrain. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to conduct the flight in an aircraft in which he had little experience flying despite knowing that air turbulence existed in and around the airport.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 3, 2016 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Bryant, Arkansas · Saline County Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Bensen
- Registration
- UNREG · no longer on the register · serial 001
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The private pilot, who did not hold a gyroplane rating, was conducting a local personal flight in the gyroplane. A witness, who was an experienced gyroplane pilot, reported seeing the pilot make a high-speed flyby over the airport. The witness added that, as the pilot turned the gyroplane onto the left base leg for the active runway, it started to "porpoise" and that the gyroplane then pitched up, nosed over, entered a "power push-over" attitude, summersaulted, and impacted terrain. The witness stated that the pilot had not flown for some time and lacked sufficient proficiency and skills to operate a gyroplane of this type and that the pilot was inexperienced and had low flight time in gyroplanes; no gyroplane flight time was recorded in the pilot's logbooks. He added that the pilot had a "macho attitude" and could not be told anything and that, although most of the gyroplane pilots had landed that day because of air turbulence in and around the airport vicinity and he had tried to talk the pilot into not flying because of the air turbulence, the pilot conducted the flight anyway. The pilot should not have chosen to fly in such conditions, especially given his lack of experience flying gyroplanes, and his decision to do so contributed to the accident.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Loss of control in flight during approach (VFR pattern base) defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during uncontrolled descent
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › (general) › Not attained/maintained
- factor Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- factor Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Turbulence › Clear air turbulence › Decision related to condition
- factor Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge › Experience/qualifications › Qualification/certification › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,150 hours in all; 1 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Maximum gross weight: 544 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Subaru (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KSUZ Bryant AR
- Destination: KSUZ Bryant AR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 02, 5,001 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 30.02 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from KLIT, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
7 documents, released by the NTSB on December 7, 2016. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E-mail from FAA Inspector Lynn E. Braswell | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 2 | Statement from FAA Inspector Lynn E. Braswell | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Ted Berg Witness Statement to the Bryant Police Department | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Weather Reports and Records Pertinent to the Investigation | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 5 | Toxicological Report, Jack F. Payne | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 6 | Excerpts from Faa's Forensic Toxicology Website | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
| 7 | Report Photos | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Other NTSB records under UNREG the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.