# Incident 19960323008369I: Beech 35BEECH, Exeter, CA, March 23, 1996

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 23, 1996, 13:00 local time
- Place: Exeter, CA
- Airport: Thunderhawk Field Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.2941° N, 119.1460° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Exeter, CA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.2941&lon=-119.1460&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3869N, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3869N) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Beech 35 (registry code 1151502, https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-35) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental E185 series (registry code 17014, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-e185-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BEECH 35BEECH
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 100 in this make and model, 10 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960323008369I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: ON MARCH 23, 1996, AT APPROXIMATELY 1300 PST A BEECHCRAFT BONANZA BE-35, N3869N WAS BEING USED FOR THE CONDUCT OF A FLIGHT REVIEW. THE OWNER/PILOT WHO WAS NOT QUALIFIED TO ACT AS THE PILOT IN COMMAND WAS BEING EVALUATED BY THE COMMERCIAL PILOT/CFI WHO WAS IN THE RIGHT PILOT SEAT. THE NOSE WHEEL SHIMMY DAMPNER HAD BEEN SERVICED EARLIER THAT DAY. WHILE TAKING OFF FROM THE VISALIA AIRPORT, CA, BOTH PILOTS HEARD A LOUD POP AND WERE UNSURE OF IT'S ORIGIN. THEY CONTINUED BACK TO THUNDERHAWK FIELD, EXETER, CA AND WHEN APPROACHING TO LAND DID NOT GET A SAFE LANDING GEAR INDICATION. VISUAL INDICATIONS FROM ANOTHER AIRPLANE CONFIRMED THAT THE NOSE LANDING GEAR MUD GUARD HAD BECOME DETACHED FROM THE NOSE LANDING GEAR AND WAS NOT ALLOWING THE NOSE GEAR TO EXTEND FULLY. THE OWNER/PILOT OF THE AIRPLANE LANDED ON A GRASS PORTION OF THE INFIELD WITH THE LANDING GEAR RETRACTED SINCE THE LANDING GEAR COULD NOT BE POSITIVELY LOCKED DOWN. SUBSEQUENTLY IT WAS REPORTED THAT THE CONTROL ROD HAD BROKEN TO THE NOSE WHEEL ASSEMBLY. THE TWO PASSENGERS (CHILDREN ) AND THE PILOTS WERE NOT INJURED AS A RESULT OF WHEELS UP LANDING. VFR FLIGHT CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THIS INCIDENT CLOSED.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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