- Date
- October 16, 1983, 16:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Libby, MT
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N4415WBenson B8M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19831016060829A
- Case key
- 16497
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The acft crashed into trees during a takeoff and descended inverted to the ground. The pilot stated he had not intended to fly a pattern but merely takeoff and land in a modified high speed taxi run. But on this last run he ran out of rwy and decided to go around the pattern. According to the pilot the engine started to overheat so he reduced power and the acft settled into the trees.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4415W
- Reported as
- Benson B8M
- Category
- Gyroplane
- Serial number
- 15007
- Airframe hours
- 54
- Engine
- Mcculloch O-100-1, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Jack Bingham
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 21, 1983 · 26 hours before
- Departed
- Libby, MT
- Airport
- S59 · Libbt, runway 32, 4,200 × 75 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 41
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 11 total · 11 in this make and model · 9 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.