- Date
- September 7, 2000, 12:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Mountain Home, AR
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N2035QCessna 177RG
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 8, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000907013729A
- Case key
- 50258
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 failure of the landing gear to extend due to the empty hydraulic reservoir.
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 landing gear did not extend during an approach to land. The pilot attempted to manually pump the landing gear down, but that failed to extend the landing gear. The pilot then elected to land gear-up at an airport where emergency personnel were in place. Examination of the landing gear's hydraulic reservoir revealed that it was empty. The airplane underwent its last annual inspection 16 days and 8 flight hours prior to the accident.
Factual narrative
On September 07, 2000, at 1200 central daylight time, a Cessna 177RG retractable-gear airplane, N2035Q, was substantially damaged when it landed gear-up at the Baxter County Regional Airport near Mountain Home, Arkansas. The private pilot, who was the owner and operator of the airplane, and his three passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The flight originated at 0930, from Corinth, Mississippi, and was destined for Branson, Missouri.
According to the pilot's written statement, the airplane's fuel quantity gauges were indicating that fuel was only being used from the left fuel tank. The pilot elected to land at Gaston, Missouri, to examine the fuel tanks and quantity gauges. When the pilot was approaching Gaston, he realized that the landing gear would not extend. The pilot attempted to manually pump the landing gear down, but that failed to extend the landing gear. The pilot elected to land at the Baxter County Regional Airport where emergency personnel were in place. The airplane landed gear-up on Runway 5.
According to an FAA inspector, who responded to the accident site, the firewall and fuselage were buckled. Examination of the landing gear's hydraulic reservoir revealed that it was empty. According to the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2), the airplane underwent its last annual inspection on August 22, 2000, at an aircraft total time of 2,120 hours. The accident occurred 8 hours after the annual inspection.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2035Q
- Reported as
- Cessna 177RG
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 177RG0435
- Airframe hours
- 2,120
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Jeff S. Johnson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 22, 2000 · 8 hours before
- Departed
- CRX · Corinth, MS
- Destination
- PLK · Branson, MO
- Airport
- BPK · Baxter County Regional, runway 5, 5,000 × 75 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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 45
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 268 total · 66 in this make and model · 199 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BPK
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.