- Date
- September 10, 2001, 17:56 local (22:56 UTC)
- Place
- Wheeling, IL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N383Beech 76
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 24, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA-West Chicago, Illinois-FSDO
- FAA report
- 20010910038649A
- Case key
- 53471
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 failure of the hydraulic power pack,and the false landing gear position indication.
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 airplane was damaged when the right main landing gear collapsed during landing. The flight instructor said that after takeoff the landing gear of the airplane would not retract. He said that he and his student attempted to raise the gear several times to no avail. They decided to fly the airplane to another airport with the landing gear in the down position. During the approach and landing phases of the flight, the landing gear was verified in the down position using the landing gear position indicating lights. This check was performed two times during the approach. The right main landing gear collapsed during the landing. During removal of the airplane from the accident scene it was found that the right main and nose landing gear were not completely down and locked. Only the left main was found in the locked position. Subsequent to the accident, the landing gear system hydraulic power pack was found to be intermittent.
Factual narrative
On September 10, 2001, at 1756 central daylight time, a Beech model 76, N383, piloted by a certified flight instructor and dual student, sustained substantial damage when the right main landing gear collapsed during landing on runway 30 (4,397 feet by 50 feet, asphalt), at the Palwaukee Municipal Airport, Wheeling, Illinois. The dual student held a private pilot certificate with a single engine land airplane rating. The 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions and was not on a flight plan. The flight instructor and dual student were not injured. The flight originated from the Greater Rockford Airport, Rockford, Illinois at 1715.
In a written statement, the flight instructor said that following takeoff from RFD the landing gear of the airplane would not retract. He said that he and his student attempted to raise the gear several times to no avail. They decided to fly the airplane to PWK with the landing gear in the down position. He said that during the approach and landing phases of the flight, the landing gear was verified in the down position using the landing gear position indicating lights. He said that this check was performed two times during the approach. The right main landing gear collapsed during the landing.
During removal of the airplane from the accident scene it was found that the right main and nose landing gear were not completely down and locked. Only the left main was found in the locked position. Subsequent to the accident, the landing gear system hydraulic power pack was found to be intermittent.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N383
- Reported as
- Beech 76
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- ME-388
- Airframe hours
- 2,117
- Engines
- Lycoming LO-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocatingLycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Palwaukee Wings
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 24, 2001 · 58 hours before
- Departed
- PWK · Wheeling, IL
- Airport
- PWK · Palwaukee Muni, runway 30, 4,397 × 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 32
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- April 21, 2000
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,757 total · 403 in this make and model · 1,664 as pilot in command · 245 in the last 90 days · 84 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 32
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- May 1, 2001
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 153 total · 11 in this make and model · 79 as pilot in command · 60 in the last 90 days · 28 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.18 inHg
- Observed at
- PWK
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.