Beechcraft Piston Aircraft Accidents posted 11/19/2009 through 11/24/2009 Official information from FAA and NTSB sources (unless otherwise noted) Editorial comments (contained in parentheses), year-to-date summary and closing comments are those of the author. 2009 Mastery Flight Training, Inc. All Rights Reserved All information is preliminary and subject to change. Comments on preliminary topics are meant solely to enhance flying safety. Please use these reports to help you more accurately evaluate the potential risks when you make your own decisions about how and when to fly. THE WEEKLY ACCIDENT UPDATE IS AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCT OF MASTERY FLIGHT TRAINING, INC. NEW FAA REPORTS THIS WEEK 11/20 1945Z (1445 local): Landing at Jacksonville, Florida, a Be35 veered off the runway and struck [its] prop. The solo pilot was not injured, and damage is minor. Weather: VFR. N1903L (D-9900) is a 1976 V35B registered since 2000 to an individual in Jacksonville. ( Loss of directional control on landing ) 11/21 1620Z (1020 local): A Be58 struck approach lights while landing at Kansas City, Missouri. Four aboard the Baron were not hurt; there was no airplane damage and weather conditions were unknown. N6745V (TJ-272) is a 1980 58P registered since 2002 to an individual in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. ( Landed short ) 11/21 1725Z (1125 local): A Be50 s landing gear collapsed on touchdown at Amarillo, Texas. Two aboard the Twin Bonanza escaped injury. Airplane damage is minor. Weather was clear and 10, with surface winds at 17 gusting to 23 knots. N385B (DH-201) is a 1958 D50B registered since May 2008 to an individual in Canyon, Texas. ( Gear collapse on landing ; Wind ) 11/23 1442Z (0942 local): A Be58 landed gear up at Stafford, Virginia. Two aboard the Baron avoided injuries; damage is minor and weather conditions were not reported. N9429Q (TH-200) is a 1972 Baron 58 registered since 2003 to a corporation in Hagerstown, Maryland. ( Gear up on landing ) 11/23 1809Z (1109 local): A Be33 s gear collapsed during a touch-and-go at Billings. Montana. Neither aboard the Bonanza was hurt; damage is unknown. Weather: not reported. N7927R (CJ-20) is a 1969 E33C registered since 2002 to a corporation in Billings, Montana. ( Gear collapse during touch-and-go a reader reports this was a Practical Test flight and the CFIcandidate pilot inadvertently retracted the landing gear during a touch-and-go directed by the examiner. A news report shows the Bonanza on its nose with partially retracted main landing gear, the hallmark of an inadvertent retraction. Touch-and-goes in retractable gear airplanes correlate to a large number of gear collapse mishaps. As I wrote in my AVweb article Rethinking Touch and Goes : There's a lot to do in the short time on the ground in a T&G, and in retractable gear (RG) airplanes there's the added risk of moving the landing gear switch when you intend to retract the flaps or perform some other function. I personally do not routinely teach T&Gs in RG airplanes, except as a "landing abort" emergency maneuver. Shouldn't RG airplanes' landing gear squat switches protect you from unlocking the landing gear? That's the design, yes. But at least in some cases the answer is no. See my observations on squat switches and gear collapse mishaps.
For more discussion read Rethinking Touch and Goes. UPDATES FROM NTSB Events previously appearing in the Weekly Accident Update: **11/14 fatal A36 crash on takeoff at San Gabriel, CA. Unfortunately we have no more substantial information about the cause of this crash.** SUMMARY: Reported Hawker Beechcraft piston mishaps, year-to-date 2009: Total reported: 163 reports Operation in VMC: 114 reports Operation in IMC: 4 reports Weather unknown or not reported : 45 reports Operation at night: 13 reports Surface wind > 15 knots: 17 reports Fatal accidents: 19 reports Serious injury accidents (not involving fatalities): 6 reports Substantial damage: 63 reports Aircraft destroyed : 17 reports Recent registration (within previous 12 months): 23 reports (Note: FAA preliminary reports no longer identify the purpose of the flight involved in mishap. Consequently the number and percentage of Beech mishaps that occur during dual instruction will become less and less accurate over time. Since the late 1990s the percentage of Beech mishaps that take place during dual flight instruction has remained very consistently about 10%). By Aircraft Type: Be36 Bonanza 44 reports Be35 Bonanza 41 reports Be33 Debonair/Bonanza 19 reports Be58 Baron 12 reports Be55 Baron 10 reports Be24 Sierra 9 reports Be76 Duchess 7 reports Be18 Twin Beech 5 reports Be19 Sport 5 reports Be60 Duke 3 reports Be17 Staggerwing 2 reports Be23 Musketeer/Sundowner 2 reports Be50 Twin Bonanza 2 reports Be56 Turbo Baron 1 report
Be77 Skipper 1 report Be95 Travel Air 1 report PRELIMINARY DETERMINATION OF CAUSE (all subject to update per NTSB findings): LANDING GEAR-RELATED MISHAPS (66 reports) Gear up landing 26 reports (two Be24s; two Be33s; eleven Be35s; seven Be36s; Be50; Be56; Be58; Be76) Gear collapse (landing) 21 reports (two Be24s; four Be33s; four Be35s; two Be36s; Be50; four Be55s; two Be58s; two Be76s) Failure of landing gear to extend due to mechanical failure 4 reports (Be24; Be33; Be58; Be60) Gear collapse during taxi 3 reports (Be24; Be36; Be76) Gear collapse on takeoff 3 reports (Be24; Be35; Be58) Gear collapse on landing following electrical failure 2 reports (Be35; Be36) Gear collapse on touch and go 2 reports (Be33; Be36) Gear collapse retract rod failure after improper installation Wheel failure/separation 1 report (Be33) Gear collapse on landing pilot-induced retraction on the runway Gear collapse retract rod bearing separation 1 report (Be55) Tailwheel failure 1 report (Be18)...for more on Landing Gear-Related Mishaps see these data and this commentary. ENGINE FAILURE (33 reports) Engine failure in flight 11 reports (Be18; two Be19s; Be33; three Be35s; three Be36s; Be55) Engine failure on takeoff 6 reports (Be33; three Be35s; Be36; Be55) Fuel starvation
4 reports (Be33; three Be36s) Fuel exhaustion 2 reports (Be35; Be60)...for more on fuel management-related mishaps see www.thomaspturner.net/fuel.htm. Piston/cylinder failure in flight 3 reports (two Be35s; Be36) Engine failure on approach 2 report s(both Be33s) Loss of oil pressure 1 report (Be24) Engine failure in the traffic pattern 1 report (Be33) Catastrophic oil loss Fuel starvation fuel cap O-ring failure Loss of turbo boost induction manifold failure 1 report (Be58) IMPACT ON LANDING (27 reports) Loss of directional control on landing 7 reports (Be18; Be19; two Be35s; Be36; Be58; Be76) Landed long runway overrun 3 reports (Be17; Be33; Be36) Collision with animal on landing 3 reports (two Be36s; Be58) Hard landing 3 reports (Be19; Be35; Be36) Landed short 3 reports (Be35; Be36; Be58) Wingtip contact with the runway 2 reports (Be58; Be77) Loss of directional control on landing strong, gusty wind 1 report (Be17) Hard landing airframe ice 1 report (Be58) Hard landing simulated engine failure on takeoff (twin-engine airplane)
1 report (Be58) Hard landing landing gear collapse (fixed gear) 1 report (Be19) Loss of directional control on go-around/fuel imbalance Go-around/failed to clear obstacles 1 report (Be58) Propeller strike on landing 1 report (Be76) MISCELLANEOUS (12 reports) Taxied into obstacle 3 reports(be35; Be36; Be58) Wheel/strut failure on landing fixed gear airplane 1 report (Be23) Unattended airplane with engine running taxis into obstruction Windscreen separation in flight Runway overrun high-speed taxi test 1 report (Be60) Unoccupied aircraft rolled into parked airplanes Struck by taxiing aircraft Cowling open in flight 1 report (Be33) Tire blown on landing In-flight breakup: thunderstorm penetration CAUSE UNKNOWN (10 reports) Takeoff/Unknown 4 reports (Be19; Be35; Be36; Be95) Crash/unknown 3 reports (Be33; Be35; Be36)
Go-around/unknown 2 reports (Be24; Be35) Landing/unknown 1 reports (Be76) IMPACT WITH OBJECT DURING TAKEOFF (6 reports) Loss of directional control during takeoff strong, gusty wind 2 reports (Be35; Be55) Runway overrun during attempted aborted takeoff Loss of directional control on takeoff touch and go 1 report (Be23) Runway overrun failure to attain climb Loss of control authority on takeoff STALL/SPIN (5 reports) Stall on final approach 2 reports (Be33; Be36) Stall/spin on approach 1 report (Be18) Stall/loss of control during go-around 1 report (Be55) Stall/spin during attempted aerobatics 1 report (Be55) CONTROLLED FLIGHT INTO TERRAIN (4 reports) Airframe ice in cruise unable to maintain altitude Attempted visual flight into IMC 2 reports (both Be36s) Collision with tower during low-altitude maneuvering 1 report (Be18) LOSS OF CONTROL IN FLIGHT (1 report) Loss of control: Attempted visual departure in IMC
Recognize an N-number? Want to check on friends or family that may have been involved in a cited mishap? Click here to find the registered owner. Please accept my sincere personal condolences if you or anyone you know was involved in a mishap. I welcome your comments, suggestions and criticisms. Fly safe, and have fun!