# Incident 20031224033879I: Beech A36, Grand Rapids, MI, December 24, 2003

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 24, 2003, 19:15 local time
- Place: Grand Rapids, MI
- Airport: Kent County International
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 42.9634° N, 85.6681° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Grand Rapids, MI, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.9634&lon=-85.6681&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1870W, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1870W) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Beech A36 (registry code 1151604, https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-a36) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental IO-520 series (registry code 17032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BEECH A36
- People aboard: 5
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 478 total, 370 in this make and model, 50 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20031224033879I

## Narrative

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

(-23) UPON DEPARTURE FROM NAPPANEE, IN (C03), PILOT HEARD A THUMP WHEN RETRACTING GEAR AND GEAR IN TRANSIT LIGHT REMAINED ON. PILOT DECIDED TO CONTINUE TO GRAND RAPIDS AS IT WAS CHRISTMAS EVE AND C03 IS AN UNCONTROLLED AIRPORT WITH NO ONE ON SITE. PILOT INFORMED APPROACH CONTROL OF THE POTENTIAL GEAR PROBLEM ON INITIAL CONTACT. PILOT TRIED TO EXTEND GEAR NORMALLY RESULTING IN TWO GREEN LIGHTS ON THE MAINS AND NONE ON THE NOSE GEAR. PILOT FLEW BY THE TOWER FOR A VISUAL INSPECTION OF THE GEAR. TOWER INFORMED THE PILOT THAT THE NOSE GEAR WAS PARTIALLY EXTENDED. PILOT THEN PULLED THE LANDING GEAR CIRCUIT BREAKER AND TRIED TO MANUALLY EXTEND THE GEAR. AFTER FLYING AROUND APPROXIMATELY ONE HOUR WITH SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO EXTEND THE NOSE GEAR, THE PILOT LANDED ON 26L AT WHICH TIME THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED. PILOT AND PASSENGERS SUCCESSFULLY EVACUATED THE AIRCRAFT. AIRCRAFT CONFIGURATION AND DAMAGE WAS CONSISTENT WITH PILOT'S REPORT OF THE EVENT.

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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