20220625011239I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Beech S35 · Kirksville, MO · June 25, 2022

Date
June 25, 2022 · 09:00 local
Place
Kirksville, MO
Phase of flight
Landing: Rollout
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N897TM
Reported as
Beech S35
Reported engine
Continental IO-520 series
People aboard
3
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Private pilot
Pilot’s flight hours
81 total19 in this make and model25 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

After landing on runway 36, the pilot reached for what he believed to be the flap handle but was instead the gear handle. The instructor pilot in the right seat noticed the error instantly and attempted to put the gear handle back in the extended configuration, however, at this point it was too late and the gear re-tracted, causing minor damage to the belly of the aircraft.

As the FAA filed it

AFTER LANDING ON RUNWAY 36, THE PILOT REACHED FOR WHAT HE BELIEVED TO BE THE FLAP HANDLE BUT WAS INSTEAD THE GEAR HANDLE. THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT IN THE RIGHT SEAT NOTICED THE ERROR INSTANTLY AND ATTEMPTED TO PUT THE GEAR HANDLE BACK IN THE EXTENDED CONFIGURATION, HOWEVER, AT THIS POINT IT WAS TOO LATE AND THE GEAR RE-TRACTED, CAUSING MINOR DAMAGE TO THE BELLY OF THE AIRCRAFT.