# NTSB ATL02LA006: Beech BE-55-T42A, N44RA, Raleigh, NC, October 12, 2001 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: October 11, 2001, 20:30 local (Oct 12, 2001, 00:30 UTC) - Place: Raleigh, NC - Location: 35.8776° N, 78.7875° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at RALEIGH-DURHAM INTL (RDU), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.8776&lon=-78.7875&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report September 9, 2002 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA - Greensboro FSDO-05 - NTSB case key (mKey): 53700 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ATL02LA006 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/53700/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL02LA006 ## Probable cause The pilot's improper flare, and improper recovery from a bounced landing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown - flare - improper, pilot in command (cause) - recovery from bounced landing - improper, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis During landing, the airplane bounced three times on the nosewheel with each successive bounce worst than the previous one. The pilot then added power and completed the landing. The airplane sustained damage to the nose gear, blade tips of the left propeller, left engine mount, and the fuselage forward of the cabin door. No mechanical problems were noted during the post-crash airframe examination, nor did the pilot report a mechanical problem with the airplane during the landing. ## Factual narrative On October 11, 2001, at 2030 eastern daylight time, a Beech BE-55-T42A, N44RA, registered to Bellefonte, Inc., of Durham, North Carolina, bounced three times on the nosewheel during landing at Raleigh-Durham International airport in Raleigh, North Carolina. The repositioning flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with an IFR flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The commercial pilot was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight departed Charlotte-Douglas International airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, at 1930. According to the pilot, while conducting a visual approach to runway 23R, "on short final the power was reduced and the nosewheel hit first." He stated that "this was the first of three bounces each worse than the last." The pilot added power to complete the landing and taxied the airplane to the tie-down area. The post-accident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunction nor did the pilot report a mechanical problem with the airplane during the attempted landing. Further examination of the airplane showed that the propeller blade tips of the left propeller and the nose gear had sustained damage. The left engine mount was bent, the fuselage forward of the cabin door showed wrinkling that extended from the windscreen down both sides of the fuselage, and the nose was displaced upward. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N44RA](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N44RA), registered now, S/N TC-916, built 1965 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Beech BE-55-T42A - Registry model: [Beech 95-B55 (T42A)](https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-95-b55-t42a) (registry code 1152706) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental I0-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-i0-470-series) (registry code 17027, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: TC-916 - Airframe hours: 10555 - Engines: Continental IO-470-L 265 horsepower reciprocating; Continental IO-470-L 265 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Positioning, Part 91 - Operator: Ram Air Freight, Inc. - Registered owner: Bellefonte, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, October 11, 2001, 3 hours before - Departed: CLT, Charlotte, NC - Destination: RDU, Raleigh-Durham, NC - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: RDU, Raleigh-Durham International, runway 23R, 10,000 × 150 ft, concrete ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 33; injuries: none; flight instructor, commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review May 7, 2000; seat: left; flight hours: 2,080 total, 230 in this make and model, 118 in the last 90 days, 40 in the last 30 days, 5 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night/dark - Wind: 150° at 5 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 63 °F, dew point 55 °F - Altimeter: 30.21 inHg - Observed at: RDU ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20011011030599A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20011011030599A), Oct 11, 2001: Beech 95B55, Raleigh-Durham, NC, Substantial damage. (-23) Pilot landing at rdu airport after dark and touched down nose first hard, aircraft bounced three times, power was added to salvage landing. Aircraft was… 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. --- 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.