Bentonville man dies after plane crashes into hangar

Emergency workers gather at the site of a plane crash Wednesday at Bentonville Municipal Airport.
Emergency workers gather at the site of a plane crash Wednesday at Bentonville Municipal Airport.

BENTONVILLE -- Rex Grimsley spoke with a mechanic Wednesday morning about work on his 1983 Beechcraft Bonanza. The pilot died minutes later when the plane crashed into a hangar at the Bentonville Municipal Airport.

photo

NWA Democrat-Gazette file photo

Bentonville police chief Jon Simpson is shown in this 2016 file photo.

"I was standing right beside him 10 minutes before the crash," said Brandon Nolker of Bella Vista, an aircraft maintenance technician. "He came into the hangar to talk about getting some maintenance done on his aircraft. There was nothing wrong with it, it just needed some scheduled maintenance."

Nolker said a few minutes after Grimsley left his co-workers heard the sound of an engine quickly accelerating nearby.

"A guy I work with yelled, 'Look out!' and then we heard the crash and saw the smoke," Nolker said. "We went outside and could see he hit the hangar just above the door and the hole in the side where the engine went through."

The crash scarred the front of the hangar with several gashes in a metal door. Two large holes visible above the door and the front of the building showed damage from smoke and fire. The ensuing fire blackened the tarmac in an area several yards around the remnants of the airplane frame.

The engine separated from the plane and went through the hangar, punching a hole in the south wall before coming to rest against the north wall of the adjacent hangar. The crashed and burned plane rested in front of the damaged hangar.

Police identified Grimsly, 70, of Bentonville as the pilot. Grimsley, a local businessman and former Bentonville School Board member, was recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2013 with its prestigious Airmen Certification Database, which names certified pilots who have met or exceeded the educational, licensing and medical standards set by the administration.

The standards were created to help "reduce pilot errors that lead to fatal crashes," the 2013 announcement states.

The crash was reported at 9:30 a.m. Lt. Gene Page of the Bentonville Police Department said the aviation administration will investigate the cause. Two FAA investigators were on the scene around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. They declined comment and referred questions to an FAA spokesman.

Page said there was no damage to other aircraft and no other injuries. A row of aircraft remained parked on the taxiway just north of the hangar where the crash occurred.

Joey Standley works at Northwest Arkansas Winwater, a utility contractor on Southeast 28th Street, near the airport. He said he and others were outside when the crash occurred.

"We just saw a big explosion," Standley said. "We saw the black smoke and called 911."

Grimsley was taking off when his plane crashed into the hangar at 2410 S.W. Aviation St., Page said. Grimsley was the only person aboard the six-seat aircraft, he said.

Joe Featherston of Bentonville said he and Grimsley grew up together and served at the same time on the Bentonville School Board. He described Grimsley as a good businessman and very outgoing person.

"He always had the best interest of the community in his heart," he said. "That was his strong point."

Traffic was halted Wednesday morning on Southwest Aviation Street as authorities closed the road shortly after the crash. The street opened about 12:30 p.m. Cars drove slowly as drivers tried to see what they could of the crash remains.

One women in a passenger seat of an SUV held her hand over her mouth in disbelief as the driver turned around after pausing to looking between the two hangars. Another woman got out of her car to take photos on her cellphone. A few pedestrians stopped to look.

The airport opened to flights about 1:30 p.m.

The airport saw more than 27,000 landings and departures in 2014, according to the recently updated airport plan. It has 13 hangars housing about 70 aircraft, and there are two hangars under construction, according to Ben Peters, city engineer and airport manager.

The Airport Advisory Board has a meeting at 1 p.m. today.

City officials can't recall any other fatal plane crash in the municipal airport's history.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his (Rex's) family, with his wife and children," Mayor Bob McCaslin said. "This is unfortunate and tragic and so sad."

NW News on 09/01/2016

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