- Date
- August 9, 2025, 09:35 local (13:35 UTC)
- Place
- Lowell, MI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N861TBeech S35
- 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
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20250809012389A
- Case key
- 200781
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 before landing.
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 reported that while flying in the traffic pattern at the destination airport, he diverted his attention outside of the airplane and forgot to extend the landing gear. He did not recall hearing the landing gear warning horn during the landing. The airplane landed with the landing gear retracted and came to rest upright on the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the bottom of the fuselage near the nose gear wheel well. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N861T
- Reported as
- Beech S35
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- D-7507
- Built
- 1964
- Engine
- Continental Motors IO-550, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 11, 2025
- Departed
- 8D4 · Sparta, MI
- Destination
- 24C · Lowell, MI
- Airport
- 24C · Lowell City, runway 12/30, 2,394 × 48 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Unknown
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
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed
- Last flight review
- May 10, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 2,687.3 total · 699.9 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- KGRR, 9 nm away
- METAR
- KGRR 091353Z 16009KT 10SM FEW250 27/21 A3007 RMK AO2 SLP176 T02670211
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.