- Date
- June 6, 2000, 10:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Sun Valley, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N133PWBeech 95
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 49359
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 certified flight instructor's (pilot-in-command) inadequate supervision of his dual student, who prematurely retracted the landing gear.
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
All three landing gear retracted immediately prior to rotation and the airplane settled back to the runway. The left wingtip struck the runway and the airplane cartwheeled, running into a rising dirt embankment, and coming to rest on the side of the runway. In his written statement, the flight instructor reported that the nose gear collapsed during the takeoff ground roll. He had no further explanation of the event. According to a pilot-rated witness, the airplane was on the takeoff ground roll when all three landing gear retracted prior to rotation, and the airplane settled back to the runway. The witness went to the assistance of the airplane occupants and spoke to the flight instructor. According to the witness, the instructor said that the student might have placed the landing gear selector switch in the up position instead of the flaps after the previous landing.
Factual narrative
On June 5, 2000, about 0800 hours mountain standard time, a Beech 95, N133PW, sustained substantial damage when the landing gear retracted during takeoff from Sun Valley, Arizona. Sheble Aviation, Bullhead City, Arizona, operated the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The certified flight instructor and the private pilot student were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the instructional flight.
According to a pilot-rated witness, the airplane was on the takeoff ground roll when all three landing gear retracted prior to rotation, and the airplane settled back to the runway. The left wingtip struck the runway and the airplane cartwheeled, running into a rising dirt embankment, and coming to rest on the side of the runway. The witness went to the assistance of the airplane occupants and spoke to the flight instructor. According to the witness, the instructor said that the student might have placed the landing gear selector switch in the up position instead of the flaps after the previous landing.
In his written statement, the flight instructor reported that the nose gear collapsed during the takeoff ground roll. He had no further explanation of the event.
A review of the Beech Model 95 Travel Air Owner's Manual reveals an excerpt from the normal takeoff procedure and reads: "Retract the landing gear as soon as you are firmly airborne with no danger of settling back to the runway."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N133PW
- Reported as
- Beech 95
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- TD-9
- Airframe hours
- 8,644
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Sheble Aviation
- Registered owner
- Wolfe Leasing
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 23, 2000 · 25 hours before
- Departed
- A20 · Sun Valley, AZ
- Destination
- IFP · Bullhead City, AZ
- Airport
- A20 · Sun Valley, runway 17, 3,700 × 42 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
- 28
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 750 total · 39 in this make and model · 670 as pilot in command · 280 in the last 90 days · 86 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.87 inHg
- Observed at
- IFP, 9 nm away