ATL05LA075

NTSB accident investigation · Swearingen SA-26AT · Lawrenceville, GA · April 26, 2005

Accident · Minor injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
April 26, 2005, 18:26 local (22:26 UTC)
Place
Lawrenceville, GA
Injuries
2 minor
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N50KVSwearingen SA-26AT
Weather
Instrument (IMC) · Night
Status
Completed · report January 31, 2006
Report
Approved by Office Director
Parties
Atlanta FSDO
FAA report
20050426009049A
Case key
61371

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The pilot's improper landing flare that resulted in a hard landing.

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.

Hard landingLanding - flare/touchdown
Flare - improperPilot in commandCause
Main gear collapsedLanding
Landing gear,main gear attachment - overload

Analysis

While executing an instrument approach to land on runway 25, the airplane collided with the runway, and collapsed the right main landing gear. The airplane subsequently burst into flames after the pilot and passenger exited the airplane. Post-accident examination of the engines found both the left and right engine fuel controls in a low power setting. Examination of the propeller control found both propellers at 30-degrees. The pilot did not report any flight control or mechanical problems during flight.

Factual narrative

On April 26, 2005, at 1826 eastern daylight time, a Swearingen SA-26AT, N50KV, registered to Southland Leasing Company, and operated by the Airline Transport Pilot, collided with runway 25,and burst into flames during a landing at the Gwinnett County-Briscoe Airport, in Lawrenceville, Georgia. The flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91, and instrument flight rules. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an IFR flight plan was filed. The pilot and passenger received minor injuries and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight originated from Spartanburg, South Carolina, on April 26, 2005, at 1741.

According to the pilot, just before touchdown the airplane turned right, and the left wing lifted and the right main gear hit the ground. He said the right main gear collapsed and the airplane bounced back into the air. He further said the airplane hit the ground a second time at a right angle to the runway's center line, and the left main and nose gear broke off and the airplane came to a stop on a taxiway. He stated that he and his passenger egressed the airplane through the emergency exit window on the right side of the airplane and got about 200 to 300 feet away when the airplane caught fire and burned. Airport crash fire rescue arrived shortly and extinguished the fire.

Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that the right main landing gear collapsed on initial contact with the runway, and the left main and nose gear collapsed shortly after the right main and subsequently separated from the airplane. Examination of the engines found both the left and right engine fuel controls in a low power setting. Examination of the propeller control found both propellers at 30-degrees. The pilot did not report a flight control or mechanical problems during flight.

Aircraft

Registration
N50KV
Reported as
Swearingen SA-26AT
Category
Airplane
Serial number
T26-115
Airframe hours
9,415
Engines
Garrett TPE 331-1-151, 840 horsepower, turbo propGarrett TPE 331-1-151, 840 horsepower, turbo prop
Damage
Substantial damage
Fire
On-Ground
Flight
Business · Part 91
Operator
Henry C Davis II
Registered owner
Southland Leasing Co
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
100 hour · December 1, 2004 · 94.5 hours before
Departed
SBA · Spartanburg, SC
Destination
LZU · Lawrenceville, GA
Flight plan
IFR
Airport
LZU · Gwinnett County - Briscoe Fiel, runway 25, 6,000 × 100 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
59
Injuries
Minor
Certificates
Commercial, Airline transport
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 2, With waivers/limitations
Last flight review
May 1, 2003
Seat
Left
Flight hours
14,000 total · 3,500 in this make and model · 14,000 as pilot in command · 120 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Instrument (IMC) · Night
Wind
Calm
Visibility
3 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
700 ft broken
Temperature
54 °F, dew point 52 °F
Altimeter
29.78 inHg
Observed at
LZU

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.