- Date
- August 23, 1987, 11:00 local (15:00 UTC)
- Place
- Somerville, VA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N81CABeech D50C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 7, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870823049159A
- Case key
- 11334
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 nose gear prematurely retracted and the props contacted the gravel runway during the takeoff initial climb. The plt attempted to continue the takeoff and the acft settled into trees off the departure end of the rwy. Post-accident inspection failed to reveal the cause of the gear retraction. Two days prior to the accident the plt was unable to extend the landing gear and had to manually hand pump the gear down. On the day before the accident, the plt inspected and lubricated the landing gear system.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N81CA
- Reported as
- Beech D50C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- DH260
- Airframe hours
- 4,597
- Engine
- Lycoming GO-480-C2D6, 295 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Hartwood Aviation Inc
- Registered owner
- Hartwood Aviation Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 16, 1986 · 95 hours before
- Airport
- 8W8 · Hartwood, runway 35, 2,500 × 30 ft, gravel
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
- 63
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,120 total · 305 in this make and model · 2,100 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 20 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.