# NTSB DEN02LA056: Beech A35, N8735A, Newcastle, WY, June 7, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 7, 2002, 17:00 local (23:00 UTC) - Place: Newcastle, WY - Coordinates: 43.839733, -104.209205 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.8397&lon=-104.2092&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report September 20, 2002 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FAA Flight Standards District Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 54955 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN02LA056 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/54955/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN02LA056 ## Probable cause the pilot-in-command's failure to lower the landing gear prior to landing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Wheels up landing, landing - flare/touchdown - gear extension - not performed, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis After practicing maneuvers outlined in the commercial pilot practical flight test guide, the pilot returned to the airport and performed different types of takeoffs and landings on runway 31. The pilot said the airport's AWOS (automated weather observation station) then reported a wind shift, and he made an approach to runway 13. He forgot to lower the landing gear and landed wheels up. According to a Raytheon Aircraft Company spokesman, the airplane is equipped with an audible landing gear warning system that activates whenever power is reduced below 12 inches of manifold pressure and the landing gear is still retracted. The pilot said he didn't know if his airplane was so equipped and, if it was, he did not hear the warning horn prior to touchdown. ## Factual narrative On June 7, 2002, approximately 1700 mountain daylight time, a Beech A35, N8735A, registered to and operated by the pilot, was substantially damaged when it landed wheels-up at Mondell Field, Newcastle, Wyoming. The private pilot, the sole occupant aboard, was not injured. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the local personal flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Newcastle approximately 1600. The pilot had just purchased the airplane, and the purpose of the flight was to practice maneuvers outlined in the commercial pilot practical flight test guide. After practicing various maneuvers in the practice area, he returned to the airport and performed different types of takeoffs and landings on runway 31. The pilot said the airport's AWOS (automated weather observation station) then reported a wind shift, and he made an approach to runway 13. He forgot to lower the landing gear and landed wheels up. According to a Raytheon Aircraft Company spokesman, the airplane is equipped with an audible landing gear warning system that activates whenever power is reduced below 12 inches of manifold pressure and the landing gear is still retracted. The pilot said he didn't know if his airplane was so equipped and, if it was, he did not hear the warning horn prior to touchdown. According to a repairman who examined the airplane, three bulkheads aft of the firewall were buckled and the wing spar was bent when the extended flaps contacted the runway. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8735A](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8735A), registered now, S/N D-2157, built 1949 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Beech A35 - Registry model: [Beech A35](https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-a35) (registry code 1151504) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental E225 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-e225-series) (registry code 17015, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: D-2157 - Airframe hours: 3456 - Engines: Continental E-225-8-20 225 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Randal W. Rhoades - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, January 25, 2002, 41 hours before - Departed: ECS, Newcastle, WY - Destination: ECS - Airport: ECS, Mondell Field, runway 13, 5,300 × 75 ft, concrete ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 49; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review May 17, 2001; seat: left; flight hours: 552 total, 50 in this make and model, 493 as pilot in command, 60 in the last 90 days, 31 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 60° at 12 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 75 °F, dew point 45 °F - Altimeter: 29.89 inHg - Observed at: RAP, 55 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20020607012139A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020607012139A), Jun 7, 2002: Beech A35, Newcastle, WY, No damage. (-23) Pilot was doing touch and go landings and forgot to extend landing gear resulting in damage to the propeller, skins on the belly of the aircraft, and… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.