- Date
- April 24, 2026, 12:15 local (16:15 UTC)
- Place
- Sanford, NC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N85WMBeech F33A
- Defining event
- Enroute: Electrical system malf/failure
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 15, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20260424010719A
- Case key
- 202902
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
A loss of electrical power as a result of broken stator leads within the alternator, which resulted in the pilot’s inability to extend the airplane’s landing gear.
Findings · 1
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.
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 pilot reported that after practicing instrument approaches with the flight instructor, they were returning to the airport. While in the traffic pattern, the pilot lowered the flaps with no problems noted, but as he attempted to lower the landing gear, the airplane lost electrical power. The pilot performed a low pass of the airport and reported that individuals on the ground confirmed that the landing gear were down, but they were unsure if they were in the locked position. The pilot then attempted to lower the landing gear with the hand crank, and he managed to make about 20 total turns (of about 50 normally needed to fully extend the landing gear) before he was unable to turn the crank any further. During the subsequent landing, the nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage. Postaccident examination flight data recovered from avionics onboard the airplane revealed that shortly after departing on the accident flight, current parameter indicated a discharge from the battery for the remainder of the flight and electrical bus voltage began to slowly decrease. A postaccident examination and functional test of the alternator revealed that the case halves of the alternator had vibrated apart and that the alternator had was not functioning. It was disassembled and the stator leads were found to be broken at the rectifier attachment point.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N85WM
- Reported as
- Beech F33A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- CE-943
- Built
- 1981
- Airframe hours
- 5,776.4
- Engine
- Continental Aerospace Technologies IO-520-BB, 285 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 16, 2025 · 11.6 hours before
- Airport
- TTA · Raleigh Exec Jetport At Sanford-Lee County, runway 21, 6,501 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Auto-pilot, Electronic primary flight display
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
- 66
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 4, 2025
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- None
- Flight hours
- 289.28 total · 115.3 in this make and model · 179.88 as pilot in command · 10.8 in the last 90 days · 2.6 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 66
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed
- Last flight review
- November 30, 2025
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 4,078.3 total · 32.6 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TTA
- METAR
- METAR KTTA 261615Z AUTO 05007KT 10SM OVC015 15/13 A3000 RMK AO2 T01500127
Docket · 10
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 15, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 11.1 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.