- Date
- July 21, 1990, 11:45 local (16:45 UTC)
- Place
- Hearne, TX
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N130MPBensen B-8M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 30, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900721027549A
- Case key
- 22974
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's loss of control in flight due to excessive control inputs and his abrupt attempts to recover control of the aircraft prior to impact.
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
Several witnesses, all of which were gyrocopter pilots, stated that it appeared the pilot entered a pilot induced oscillation (pio) during the initial climb and that he was unable to regain control. A video tape of the accident showed the aircraft enter a series of divergent nose up and nose down maneuvers, the first of which was a nose pitch up. The aircraft subsequently entered a steep descent, went inverted, and impacted the ground. No evidence of pre-impact failure or malfunction was found. The pilot did not have a gyrocopter rating and had accumulated a total of about 40 hours of flight time in the make and model aircraft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N130MP
- Reported as
- Bensen B-8M
- Category
- Gyroplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 2
- Engine
- Rotax R532, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Pinson, Marcus L.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 15, 1989 · 40 hours before
- Departed
- T72
- Destination
- T72
- Airport
- T72 · Hearne Muni
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
- 59
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 220 total · 40 in this make and model · 80 as pilot in command · 55 in the last 90 days · 40 in the last 30 days · 9 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.