# Accident 19980321004099A: Swftms GC1B, Lancaster, TX, March 21, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 21, 1998, 14:30 local time
- Place: Lancaster, TX
- Airport: Lancaster Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Touch And Go Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 32.5896° N, 96.7804° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.5896&lon=-96.7804&mi=10
- Aircraft: N80556, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N80556-2017-05-23) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Globe GC-1B (registry code 9230104, https://openairdocs.org/model/globe-gc-1b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental C125 series (registry code 17011, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c125-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SWFTMS GC1B
- Reported engine: CONT O300*
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 16,500 total, 250 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98LA153](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98LA153) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980321004099A

## Narrative

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

1946 GLOBE ACFT LANDED GEAR UP, SKIDDED DOWN THE RWY BURNED, AND WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE, LANCASTER, TX. (.4)FOLLOWING A SERIES OF TOUCH AND GO LANDINGS, THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED FOLLOWING AN INADVERTENT GEAR UP LANDING. THE AIRPLANE SLID APPROXIMATELY 450 FEET BEFORE COMING TO A STOP. A POST IMPACT FIRE ERUPTED IN THE AREA OF THE FUEL GASCOLATOR. THE GEAR WAS FOUND SECURED IN THE UP AND LOCKED POSITION. A REVIEW OF MAINTENANCE RECORDS, NOT DESTROYED BY THE FIRE, DID NOT REVEAL ANY UNCORRECTED MAINTENANCE DISCREPANCIES WITH THE GEAR SYSTEM.  IT WAS A PRACTICE OF THE PILOT TO LEAVE THE LANDING GEAR EXTENDED AND RETRACT THE FLAPS AFTER BECOMING AIRBORNE ON THE TOUCH AND GO LANDINGS. THE PILOT DID NOT RECALL TOUCHING THE GEAR HANDLE AFTER EXTENDING THE GEAR ON THE FIRST LANDING.                                                                   (-23) AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED DOING TOUCH AND GO'S WITH GEAR DOWN.  NO WITNESSES WERE FOUND THAT SAW THE LAST LANDING.  THIS INSPECTOR SAW THE AIRCRAFT AFTER IT CAME TO REST WHEN THE FIRE STARTED.  I OBSERVED THE PIC EVACUATE THE AIRCRAFT.  ABOUT 3 MINUTES LATER, I ARRIVED WITH 2 HAND HELD FIRE EXTING                                               UISHERS. AFTER USING THE FIRST ONE, THE FLAMES WENT OUT ENOUGH FOR ME TO SEE THAT THE WING TANKS HAD NOT IGNITED YET. I THEN DECIDED THAT DISCRETION WAS THE BETTER PART OF VALOR AND DID A STRATEGIC WITHDRAWAL. THE FLAMES CONSUMED THE CENTER SECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT BEFORE THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED TO PUT IT OUT. THE LANDING GEAR WAS FOUND LOCKED IN THE UP POSITION.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB FTW98LA153](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98LA153), Mar 21, 1998: Globe GC-1B (N80556), Lancaster, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to extend the landing gear.

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.