# Incident 20160825007149I: Beech B35, Mesa, AZ, August 25, 2016 - Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: August 25, 2016, 18:25 local time - Place: Mesa, AZ - Airport: Phoenix-Mesa Gateway - Damage: Minor damage - Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 33.4223° N, 111.8226° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Mesa, AZ, within about 7 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.4223&lon=-111.8226&mi=10 - Aircraft: N369RB, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N369RB) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Beech B35 (registry code 1151506, https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-b35) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental E185 series (registry code 17014, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-e185-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BEECH B35 - Reported engine: CONT MOTOR E185 SERIES - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Private pilot - Pilot flight hours: 3,429 total, 1,371 in this make and model, 48 in the last 90 days - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160825007149I ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. N369RB WAS ON AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT PLAN KALS ALAMOSA TO KCHD CHANDLER. INSTRUMENT CLEARANCE FROM EAST TO BRAZO INTERSECTION IN NORTHWEST NEW MEXICO TO CHANDLER MUNICIPAL AIRPORT. THE REST WAS FLOWN VFR. THE PILOT HAD NOT FLOWN FOR A MONTH AND FOUND THE BATTERY DEAD WHEN HE ARRIVED TO START THE AIRCRAFT. HE GOT A JUMP START FROM THE ALAMOSA LINEMAN. WHEN THE PILOT WAS ROUGHLY 25 MILES FROM CHEKR INTERSECTION, DEVIATING TO THE EAST TO AVOID THUNDERSTORMS @ 14,000FT, 1ST ENCOUNTER COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS WITH #1 RADIO GARMIN 430. COMMUNICATIONS WITH OTHER PLANES BECAME GARBLED; THE NEEDLES ON THE GLIDESLOPE BEGAN TO FLUCTUATE. NO ABNORMAL READINGS ON THE AMMETER PRIOR TO FAILURE OF THE G430. PREVIOUSLY EXPERIENCED ABNORMAL RADIO RECEPTION IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO A THUNDERSTORM. G430 SCREEN WENT BLANK. RADIO #2 G496 STILL RECEIVED AND DISPLAYED XM WEATHER AND FLIGHT PLAN ROUTE AND CURRENT POSITION. PILOT SWITCHED COMMS TO #2 RADIO AND ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT ALBUQUERQUE CENTER. #2 WENT BLANK SHORTLY AFTER WITH NO CONTACT. PILOT ENTERED 7600 INTO TRANSPONDER. PILOT PULLED OUT HAND HELD AND CALLED ALBUQUERQUE CENTER AGAIN WITH NO CONTACT. PILOT LOOKED UP CHANDLER FREQUENCIES. HE KNEW PHX APPROACH WAS 123.7 SO DIALED IT IN BUT COULD NOT MAKE CONTACT. PILOT DECIDED TO USE THAT ONE AS HE GOT CLOSER TO BRAVO AIRSPACE. OTHER ENGINE INSTRUMENTS BEGAN TO SHOW ODD READINGS INCLUDING EGT BUT HE DID NOT SEE ANY CHANGE IN ENGINE PERFORMANCE. PILOT ENCOUNTERED IMC SOON AFTER GETTING PAST THE THUNDERSTORM AND NAVIGATED ON CLEARED ROUTE, DIRECT TO CHEKR AND THEN DIRECT IWA WHILE MAINTAINING 14,000FT ALT. PILOT WAS ABLE TO ESTABLISH CONTACT WITH PHX APPROACH AS HE PROCEEDED CLOSER TO IWA AND RECEIVED CLEARANCE TO DESCEND TO 8,000 FT. APPROACH VECTORED N369RB ON A 230 HEADING. PILOT ADVISED HE WOULD NEED TO MANUALLY LOWER THE GEAR. APPROACH CLEAR TO DESCEND TO 6200 FEET. UPON REACHING 6200 PILOT REDUCED AIRSPEED TO THE MAX GEAR EXTENSION SPEED AND BEGAN TO LOWER THE GEAR MANUALLY. PILOT EXPERIENCED STRONG RESISTANCE AND COULD NOT LOWER THE GEAR. AT APPROACH REQUEST PILOT ADVISED OF FUEL STATUS. PILOT ASKED APPROACH TO FLYBY CHANDLER TOWER TO OBTAIN A VISUAL CHECK OF LANDING GEAR. PILOT FLEW DOWN TO 2500 FEET AND STAYED ON PHX APPROACH DUE TO HIS INCREASED WORKLOAD. AT PHX APPROACH REQUEST PILOT REVERSED COURSE AND FLEW TO THE SOUTHWEST, CONTINUING TO WORK ON EXTENDING THE LANDING GEAR. PHX APPROACH THAT CHANDLER TOWER ADVISED THAT THE NOSE GEAR DID NOT APPEAR TO BE EXTENDED PHX APP. INSTRUCTED PILOT TO CLIMB TO 5000 FT. PILOT CONTINUED TO 5000 AND WORKED ON GEAR EXTENSION. PILOT ADVISE APPROACH HE COULD NOT GET GEAR DOWN AND LOCKED AND NEEDED TO MAKE A GEAR UP LANDING. PHX APPROACHED ADVISED TO LAND AT MESA IWA AFTER CLEARING OF A SANDSTORM DUE TO CURRENT WEATHER AND SITUATION. PILOT GAVE FUEL STATUS AND ADVISE HE HAD 30 MINUTES OF FUEL LEFT WITH NO PASSENGERS OF BOARD. PHX APP VECTORED N369RB TO MESA IWA AND CLEARED PILOT TO LAND WITH VISUAL. NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED ON TOUCH DOWN AND AIRCRAFT CAME TO A STOP IN A NOSE DOWN POSITION WITH PROP STRIKE DAMAGE. NO DAMAGE WAS FOUND ON THE BELLY OF THE AIRCRAFT OR WINGS. MOSTLY TO THE GEAR AND LANDING GEAR DOORS. THE PILOT REALIZES HE FORGOT TO PULL THE LANDING GEAR BREAKER AND UNDERSTANDS NOW WITH COUNSELING THAT THIS COULD BE A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO NOT BEING ABLE TO EXTEND THE LANDING GEAR MANUALLY. ## Other reports on N369RB (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 19790815031459I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19790815031459I), Aug 15, 1979: Beech B35 (N369RB), Orchards, WA, Minor damage. Pilot inadvertantly retracted gear when he reached for landing light switch. Landed gear up. 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.