# NTSB ERA20CA296: Beech 55, N8629M, Nashville, TN, August 24, 2020 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Data collection · Final report - Date: August 24, 2020, 10:16 local (15:16 UTC) - Place: Nashville, TN - Coordinates: 36.124443, -86.678054 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.1244&lon=-86.6781&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 101853 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA20CA296 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/101853/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101853 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA20CA296 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadvertent feathering of the propellers during the landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing. A factor in the accident was the instructor's failure to fully monitor the pilot's manipulation of the levers in the airplane's non-standard throttle quadrant. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Info processing/decision: identification/recognition](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041510): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Beech 95-A55, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041510/cases.md?model=1152704), [All aircraft, 559 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041510/cases.md) - [Attention/monitoring: monitoring other person](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02021535): Personnel issues › Psychological · Instructor/check pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Beech 95-A55, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02021535/cases.md?model=1152704), [All aircraft, 200 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02021535/cases.md) - [Propeller system: propeller feather/reversing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01046123): Aircraft › Aircraft propeller/rotor · Incorrect use/operation (probable cause); cases with it: [Beech 95-A55, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01046123/cases.md?model=1152704), [All aircraft, 26 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01046123/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090) (defining event); cases with it: [Beech 95-A55, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090/sequence.md?model=1152704), [All aircraft, 1,506 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090/sequence.md) - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300); cases with it: [Beech 95-A55, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md?model=1152704), [All aircraft, 3,643 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md) ## Analysis The commercial pilot was on her second flight of multi-engine flight instruction as she completed an approach and flared the airplane for landing. The instructor said his attention was "outside" as he monitored the airplane's height, drift, runway alignment, and guarded the throttles. The airplane suddenly landed hard, bounced back into the air, and did not respond as expected to the instructor's remedial actions. The engines responded to an increase in throttle for a go-around, but there was no corresponding increase in thrust. The airplane drifted to its left, and the instructor chose to close the throttles, and perform a controlled landing. The airplane departed the runway surface and came to rest in the grass infield with substantial damage to the fuselage forward of the cockpit. According to the instructor, there were no deficiencies in the performance and handling of the airplane. The student pilot had experienced a negative habit transfer from her experience in the airplane she was accustomed to flying as the configuration of its throttle quadrant differed from the accident airplane and she had inadvertently reduced (feathered) the propellers rather than reducing the throttles while landing. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8629M](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8629M-2021-10-25), registration cancelled 2021-10-25, S/N TC-498, built 1963 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Beech 55 (95A55) - Registry model: [Beech 95-A55](https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-95-a55) (registry code 1152704) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental I0-470 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-i0-470-series) (registry code 17027, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: TC-498 - Year built: 1963 - Airframe hours: 5404.3 - Engines: Continental IO-470-L 260 horsepower reciprocating; Continental IO-470-L 260 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, November 2, 2019, 51 hours before - Departed: XNX, Gallatin, TN - Destination: BNA, Nashville, TN - Airport: BNA, Nashville Intl, runway 20C, 8,001 × 150 ft, concrete - Equipment: Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 48; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; seat: left; restraint: lap only; flight hours: 307.1 total, 3 in this make and model, 307.1 as pilot in command, 34 in the last 90 days, 28 in the last 30 days, 1.2 in the last 24 hours - Flight instructor; age 59; injuries: none; commercial, airline transport, flight instructor, flight engineer; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane, helicopter; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; last flight review December 23, 2019; seat: right; restraint: lap only; flight hours: 22,537 total, 29.2 in this make and model, 126 in the last 90 days, 61.7 in the last 30 days, 2.4 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 82 °F, dew point 72 °F - Altimeter: 30.15 inHg - Observed at: BNA ## 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 20200824014249A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200824014249A), Aug 24, 2020: Beech 95-A55, Nashville, TN, Substantial damage. Approximately 5-10 feet from touchdown the aircraft seemed to have lost power and "dropped". The aircraft bounced hard and flew back into the air. The pilots… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 19, 2021, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101853. 1.7 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 13 pages, 510 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=10917851&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=N8629M-6120form-NashvilleFlightTraining-Aug2020-completed_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Pilot interview summaries (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 63 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=10931894&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Pilot%20interview%20summaries_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 3, PDF, 4 pages, 1.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=10936028&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Docket%20Photo%20Array-Rel.pdf 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.