- Date
- April 24, 1984, 10:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Rocksprings, TX
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N39815Bellanca 17-31ATC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19840424016279A
- Case key
- 21317
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 plt stated that the cabin door opened in-flight. While making a landing at Rocksprings in order to shut the door, the plt failed to use the checklist and landed the acft with the gear up. The acft was equipped with an auto gear extender, but because of gusty wind conditions, power was not reduced enough to activate the system.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N39815
- Reported as
- Bellanca 17-31ATC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 73-31045
- Airframe hours
- 1,650
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-K1E5, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James E. Mortensen
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- UVA · Uvalde, TX
- Airport
- 69R · Edwards County, runway 14, 3,800 × 50 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
- 56
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,060 total · 1,203 in this make and model · 4,000 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 20 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N39815 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.