- Date
- July 10, 2012, 14:40 local (18:40 UTC)
- Place
- Sugar Loaf Mountain, MI
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2023VBeech 58
- Defining event
- Landing: Landing gear not configured
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 4, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20120710014149A
- Case key
- 84290
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 did not complete the before-landing checklist and, subsequently, failed to extend the landing gear prior to landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s distraction with his passengers’ conversation.
Findings · 3
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, on a personal cross-country flight, had flown into the destination airport many times before and was familiar with the procedures associated with landing there. While completing the before-landing checklist, the pilot became distracted by conversation from the passengers. The pilot said that he did not hear the gear warning horn and, before he realized that the gear was still up, the airplane impacted the runway, sustaining substantial damage to the fuselage during the wheels-up landing. Earlier in the flight, the pilot briefed his passengers about having a sterile cockpit environment during the landing phase of flight, but the conversation did not cease. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies associated with the accident.
Factual narrative
The airplane was on a personal cross country flight. The pilot had flown into the destination airport many times before and was familiar with the procedures associated with landing there. While completing the before landing checklist, the pilot became distracted by conversation from the passengers. The pilot never heard the gear warning horn and before he realized that the gear was still up, he impacted on the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage during the wheels up landing. No one onboard was injured during the accident. Earlier in the flight, the pilot briefed his passengers about having a sterile cockpit environment during the landing phase of flight. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies associated with the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2023V
- Reported as
- Beech 58
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- TH-968
- Airframe hours
- 6,289
- Engines
- Cont Motor IO 520 SERIES, 285 horsepower, reciprocatingCont Motor IO 520 SERIES, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Dotaero L L C
- Registered owner
- Dotaero L L C
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 16, 2011 · 72 hours before
- Departed
- GRR · Grand Rapids, MI
- Destination
- Y04 · Sugar Loaf Mountain, MI
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- Y04 · Sugar Loaf Mountain, runway 02, 3,519 × 50 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
- 76
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 7, 2011
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 6,896 total · 2,701 in this make and model · 6,896 as pilot in command · 41 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.14 inHg
- Observed at
- kvtc, 25 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 1, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.8 MB 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.