- Date
- March 5, 2000, 11:45 local (16:45 UTC)
- Place
- Cornelia, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8865RBellanca 260 B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000305008469A
- Case key
- 48744
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to use the checklist, resulting in a wheels-up landing and post-crash fire.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot stated that he did not obtain much altitude and speed for the short flight. He also reported that the landing gear was not needed to slow the airplane down and was not extended on approach. The pilot reported that he forgot to extend the landing gear before landing, and he did not recall hearing the landing gear warning horn after the throttle was retarded. He also stated that after he exited the airplane and was about 50 feet away, the airplane burst into flames. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or component failures with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On March 5, 2000, at 1145 eastern standard time, a Bellanca 260 B, N8865R, landed with the wheels up and burst into flames on runway 24 at the Habersham County Airport in Cornelia, Georgia. The personal flight was operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane was destroyed. The private pilot was not injured. The flight departed Canton, Georgia, at 1130.
The pilot stated that during the short flight from Canton, he did not obtain much altitude and airspeed. He reported that the landing gear was not needed to slow the airplane down and was not extended on approach.
According to the pilot, he forgot to extend the landing gear before landing, and did not recall hearing the landing gear warning horn after the throttle was retarded. The pilot also stated that after he exited the airplane and was about 50 feet away, the airplane burst into flames. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or component failures with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8865R
- Reported as
- Bellanca 260 B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4227
- Airframe hours
- 3,800
- Engine
- Continental IO-470F, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Paul L. Dorn Jr.
- Registered owner
- Ace Auto Insurance
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 47A · Canton, GA
- Airport
- AJR · Habersham County, runway 24, 4,200 × 75 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 64
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 525 total · 178 in this make and model · 410 as pilot in command · 25 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ATL, 77 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.