Pilot Debrief

BEECH 95-B55 (T42A) near Greeley, CO — 2023-08-30

Final reportCEN23LA407
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Date
2023-08-30
Location
Greeley, CO, USA
Airport
GXY
Aircraft
BEECH 95-B55 (T42A)
Registration
N2KM
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to extend the landing gear. Contributing to the accident was a malfunction of the landing gear warning horn for undetermined reasons.

Contributing factors

Contributing to the accident was a malfunction of the landing gear warning horn for undetermined reasons.

NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he had conducted a practice instrument approach to a landing and chose to remain in the traffic pattern for a second landing in dusk light conditions. While he was on final approach, he was performing the pre-landing checklist (gas, undercarriage, mixture, props) when he was distracted “by what appeared to be another aircraft ahead of me…” However, he could not locate the object again after visually scanning the traffic pattern. During the landing, he heard the main wheels briefly on the runway surface immediately followed by the sound of the airplane’s lower fuselage contacting the runway surface. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the exterior of the landing gear doors, along with the lower fuselage skin and underlying structure, had substantial abrasion damage with no damage to the landing gear structure or linkages. The landing gear operated normally during multiple gear retraction and extension tests. However, during the landing gear test, the cockpit landing gear warning system failed to sound an audible warning for reasons that could not be determined. Based on available information, it is likely that the pilot failed to extend the airplane’s landing gear before touchdown on the runway.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have focused on landing checklist instead of distractions.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Video
  • Photos
  • 6 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents6

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