# Incident 19970804036029I: Beech 65, Mcallen, TX, August 4, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 4, 1997, 11:50 local time
- Place: Mcallen, TX
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: VWYA
- Location: 26.2034° N, 98.2300° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of McAllen, TX, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.2034&lon=-98.2300&mi=10
- Aircraft: N231Q, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N231Q-2001-07-26) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Beech 65 (registry code 1152802, https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-65) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BEECH 65
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 350 total, 350 in this make and model, 32 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970804036029I

## Narrative

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

NARRATIVE: AFTER DEPARTING MONTEREY DEL NORTE, THE AIRCRAFT LOST ALL ELECTRICAL POWER. THE EMERGENCY ALTERNATOR RESTART WAS INITIATED. BOTH ALTERNATORS INDICATED 28 VOLTS FOR ABOUT 10 SECONDS, THEN DECREASED TO 20 VOLTS AND SHOWED STEADY DECREASE. AFTER ALL ATTEMPTS FAILED TO RESTART THE ALTERNATORS THE GEAR WAS EXTENDED MANUALLY. THE GEAR WAS NOT IN THE DOWN AND LOCKED POSITION WHEN THE AIRCRAFT LANDED. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE AND IS UNDER INVESTIGATION. THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF THE GEAR FAILURE OF N231Q, BEECHCRAFT 65, SERIAL NUMBER LC-185 WAS AS FOLLOWS: FIRST DAMAGE WAS CAUSED BY CREW NOT ACTUATING ALTERNATOR SWITCHES PRIOR TO TAKE-OFF AND INADVERTENTLY DRAINING POWER FROM BATTERY PRIOR TO LANDING. PILOT MANUALLY EXTENDED GEAR UNTIL HE THOUGHT THEY WERE DOWN AND LOCKED, HOWEVER, THE LEFT GEAR WAS NOT LOCKED. SECOND DAMAGE WAS CAUSED BY FAILURE OF THE ALTERNATOR ON THE RIGHT SIDE AND A FAULTY BATTERY RELAY. PILOT MANUALLY EXTENDED GEAR UNTIL HE THOUGHT IT WAS DOWN AND LOCKED. DURING THE LATEST REPAIR ALL FLIGHT CREWS WERE GIVEN ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTION AND PHYSICALLY EXTENDED THE GEAR MANUALLY WHILE ON JACKS. THIS INCIDENT IS 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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