- Date
- July 17, 2001, 10:05 local (16:05 UTC)
- Place
- Englewood, CO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N886NBeech 95-B55 (T42A)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 1, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20010717022389A
- Case key
- 52736
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 receiving instruction inadvertently retracting the landing gear during the landing roll. A contributing factor was the flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the pilot receiving instruction.
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 pilots were cleared to do a touch and go landing. The airplane touched down and slowed. The private pilot receiving instruction raised the flaps and, instead of advancing the throttles to go around as per company SOP, she raised the landing gear control switch, and the landing gear retracted. The airplane skidded to a halt and caught fire. Both occupants evacuated the airplane. The airplane is equipped with a squat switch that is designed to prevent inadvertent gear retraction when there is weight on the wheels. The switch later tested satisfactory.
Factual narrative
On July 17, 2001, at 1005 mountain daylight time, a Beech 95-B55, N886N, registered to JDTS Leasing, LLC, and operated by Enterprise Airline Training Academy, was destroyed when the landing gear was retracted during landing roll at Centennial Airport, Englewood, Colorado. The flight instructor and the private pilot receiving instruction were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the instructional flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Englewood approximately 0830.
According to interviews conducted with the pilots and the accident report they submitted, the pilot receiving instruction was preparing for the multiengine practical test scheduled for the next day. After about an hour of practicing maneuvers, a simulated single engine ILS approach was made to runway 35R. They were then cleared to do a touch and go landing on runway 17L. The airplane touched down and slowed. The pilot receiving instruction raised the flaps and, instead of advancing the throttles to go around (which was the company's standard operating procedure), she raised the landing gear control switch instead, and the landing gear retracted. The airplane skidded to a halt and caught fire. Both occupants evacuated the airplane. The cabin area was gutted, and both wings sustained thermal damage.
The airplane was equipped with a squat switch that is designed to prevent inadvertent gear retraction when there is weight on the wheels. The switch later tested satisfactory.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N886N
- Reported as
- Beech 95-B55 (T42A)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- TC-877
- Airframe hours
- 8,443
- Engine
- Continental IO-470-L, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- JDTS Leasing, LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 16, 2001 · 15 hours before
- Departed
- APA · Englewood
- Destination
- APA · Englewood, CO
- Airport
- APA · Centennial, runway 17L, 10,002 × 100 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 · 3
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 40
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- April 14, 2001
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 493 total · 203 in this make and model · 400 as pilot in command · 204 in the last 90 days · 116 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Injuries
- None
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 32
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 117 total · 17 in this make and model · 65 as pilot in command · 29 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- APA
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.