- Date
- February 27, 2011, 13:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Brenham, TX
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N437DBeech G35
- Defining event
- Landing: Landing gear not configured
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 8, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Houston FSDO
- FAA report
- 20110227004999A
- Case key
- 78479
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 extend the landing gear during the approach resulting in a gear-up landing.
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that he was arriving to land at a busy non-towered airport. He inadvertently forgot to extend the landing gear, partly because of the strong gusting headwind he experienced on final approach. His attention was directed toward making a smooth touchdown when he suddenly saw the propeller stop as it contacted the runway surface. After the airplane came to a stop, the pilot removed his electronic noise canceling headphones and he then heard the landing gear warning horn which was not wired into the audio interphone system. As a result of the impact sequence, there was substantial damage to the fuselage structure.
Factual narrative
The pilot was arriving to land at a busy non-towered airport. Two military helicopters were doing practice approaches ahead of the accident airplane and two other aircraft were also in the traffic pattern. The pilot reported he inadvertently forgot to extend the landing gear, partly because of the strong gusting headwinds he experienced on final approach. His attention was directed toward making a smooth touchdown when he suddenly saw the propeller stop as the airplane contacted the runway surface. After the airplane came to a stop the pilot removed his electronic noise canceling headphones and he then heard the landing gear warning horn which was not wired into the audio interphone system. There was substantial damage to the fuselage structure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N437D
- Reported as
- Beech G35 (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- D-4530
- Airframe hours
- 5,485
- Engine
- Continental E225 Series, 225 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 2, 2010 · 35 hours before
- Departed
- TS07 · Cypress, TX
- Destination
- 11R · Brenham, TX
- Airport
- 11R · Brenham Municipal Airport, runway 17, 6,003 × 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
- 71
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- September 18, 2010
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,745 total · 600 in this make and model · 1,745 as pilot in command · 18 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 9 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 20 knots, gusting 26
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.71 inHg
- Observed at
- K11R
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 4, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 381 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.