- Date
- August 21, 2020, 19:45 local (Aug 22, 2020, 00:45 UTC)
- Place
- Athens, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1621WBeech 55
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing gear not configured
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20200822014189A
- Case key
- 101859
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 and landing.
Findings · 2
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 airline transport pilot and private pilot rated passenger departed on a local, personal flight. The pilot reported that he failed to extend the landing gear before landing. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage ribs and stringers. He said that the landing gear warning did not sound through the headsets, so the sound was faint and that the gear warning sounded like the stall warning, which was “confusing.” The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1621W
- Reported as
- Beech 55 (95B55)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- TC-1455
- Built
- 1972
- Airframe hours
- 6,000
- Engines
- Continental IO-470, 285 horsepower, reciprocatingContinental IO-470, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 15, 2019
- Airport
- F44 · Athens Municipal Airport, runway 18, 3,988 × 60 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Data recorder, Auto-pilot, ADS-B
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 66
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 11, 2020
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 25,400 total · 0.8 in this make and model · 18,750 as pilot in command · 27 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Pilot-rated passenger
- Age
- 59
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Unknown
- Last flight review
- April 23, 2020
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 297 total · 25 in this make and model · 224 as pilot in command · 44 in the last 90 days · 19 in the last 30 days · 0.8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.88 inHg
- Observed at
- F44
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 5, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.7 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.