ERA16LA320

NTSB accident investigation · Beech B100 · Jackson, TN · September 21, 2016

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
September 21, 2016, 16:20 local (21:20 UTC)
Place
Jackson, TN
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N66804Beech B100
Defining event
Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report January 25, 2018
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Eastern Region Aviation
Parties
FAA/FSDO
FAA report
20160921020569A
Case key
94061

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 improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard 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.

Use of equip/info: aircraft controlPersonnel issues › Task performance · PilotBeech B100: 3 casesAll aircraft: 9,295 casesProbable cause
Performance/control parameters: landing flareAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Incorrect use/operationBeech B100: 2 casesAll aircraft: 1,285 casesProbable cause
Object/animal/substance: sign/markerEnvironmental issues › Physical environment · Contributed to outcomeBeech B100: 1 caseAll aircraft: 214 cases

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 commercial pilot reported that he had completed several uneventful flights in the multiengine airplane earlier on the day of the accident. He subsequently took off for a return flight to his home airport. He reported that the en route portion of the flight was uneventful, and on final approach for the traffic pattern for landing, all instruments were indicating normal. He stated that the airplane landed "firmly," that the right wing dropped, and that the right engine propeller blades contacted the runway. He pulled back on the yoke, and the airplane became airborne again momentarily before settling back on the runway. The right main landing gear (MLG) collapsed, and the airplane then veered off the right side of the runway and struck a runway sign and weather antenna. Witness reports corroborated the pilot's report. Postaccident examination revealed that the right MLG actuator was fractured and that the landing gear was inside the wheel well, which likely resulted from the hard landing. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. Based on the pilot and witness statements and the wreckage examination, it is likely that the pilot improperly flared the airplane, which resulted in the hard landing and the collapse of the MLG.

Factual narrative

On September 21, 2016, about 1620 central daylight time, a Beech B100, N66804, was substantially damaged when the right main landing gear collapsed during landing at the Mc Kellar-Sipes Regional Airport (MKL), Jackson, Tennessee. The commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the business flight that originated from Memphis International Airport (MEM), Memphis, Tennessee. The airplane was registered to OIA Enterprises LLC, and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.According to the pilot, he was flying businessmen to different airports all day and was returning from MEM to his home airport. The en route portion of the flight was uneventful, and on the final approach leg of the traffic pattern for landing at MKL, he verified that the three green landing gear indicator lights were illuminated, and all instruments were indicating normal. He further stated that the airplane landed "firmly" and the right wing dropped down far enough that the right engine propeller blades contacted the runway. The pilot then pulled back on the control yoke and the airplane became airborne again momentarily, before settling back down on the runway. The right main landing gear collapsed. The airplane then veered off the right side of the runway, struck a runway sign and contacted a weather antenna. According to witnesses, they watched the airplane land hard on the runway, then the airplane flew back up in the air and landed hard again on the runway. The right landing gear folded-up under the airplane and the airplane slid off the right side of the runway. Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the airplane was resting on its right wing, against the airport's weather service antenna. The right landing gear was inside the wheel-well. The left engine was hanging loose from the motor mounts. After the airplane was raised, the inspector noticed that the right main landing gear actuator was fractured in half.

Aircraft

Registration
N66804
Reported as
Beech B100
Category
Airplane
Serial number
BE-82
Built
1979
Airframe hours
4,013
Engines
Garrett TPE-331-6-251, 940 horsepower, turbo propGarrett TPE-331-6-251, 940 horsepower, turbo prop
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Business · Part 91
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
AAIP · April 23, 2016
Departed
MEM · Memphis, TN
Destination
MKL · Jackson, TN
Flight plan
IFR
Airport
MKL · Mc Kellar-Sipes Rgnl, runway 02, 6,006 × 150 ft, asphalt
Equipment
Satellite tracking device, Stall warning system, Auto-pilot, Electronic multifunction display, Onboard weather

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
69
Injuries
None
Certificate
Airline transport
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 2, With waivers/limitations
Last flight review
March 3, 2016
Seat
Left
Restraint
4-point
Flight hours
11,295 total · 570 in this make and model · 70 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
Variable at 3 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
88 °F, dew point 64 °F
Altimeter
30.05 inHg
Observed at
KMKL

Docket · 5

The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 13, 2017, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.5 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.