LAX08LA304

NTSB accident investigation · Beech N35 · The Dalles, OR · July 10, 2008

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
July 10, 2008, 15:00 local (22:00 UTC)
Place
The Dalles, OR
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N931BBeech N35
Defining event
Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing gear collapse
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report July 14, 2009
Report
Approved by Office Director
Parties
Federal Aviation Administration FSDO
FAA report
20080710851309A
Case key
69511

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

A collapse of the right main landing gear for undetermined reasons.

Findings · 2

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.

Landing gear system: main landing gearAircraft › Aircraft systems · Not specifiedBeech N35: 1 caseAll aircraft: 241 casesProbable cause
Not determinedNot determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determinedBeech N35: 3 casesAll aircraft: 2,247 casesProbable cause

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 accident was not reported to the NTSB or the FAA until 5 months after the event and the airplane had been repaired. According to the pilot, he was landing on runway 30 with winds from 350 degrees at 12 knots, gusting to 16 knots. The right wing continued to settle during the rollout and contacted the runway. The airplane veered to the right, and the airplane departed the runway surface. The pilot noted that the right main landing gear had collapsed after he exited the airplane. The nose and left main landing gear remained down and locked. The damage was limited to the wing tip, flap, aileron, the step, and the inner gear door. Mechanics replaced the damaged parts, and cycled the landing gear numerous times. They did not find any problems with the operating or warning systems.

Factual narrative

On July 10, 2008, about 1500 Pacific daylight time, a Beech N35, N931B, veered of the runway during landing at Columbia Gorge Regional Airport, The Dalles, Oregon. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The private pilot was not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage to the right aileron. The cross-country personal flight departed Spokane, Washington, about 1330 with a planned destination of The Dalles. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The Safety Board was not notified of the accident until November 21, 2008, and the pilot did not submit a Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report (Form 6120.1).

The pilot reported to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that he was landing on runway 30. The winds were from 350 degrees at 12 knots gusting to 16 knots. He said that he landed on the runway centerline passed the runway threshold. The right wing continued to settle during the rollout and contacted the runway. The airplane veered to the right, and departed the runway surface. It came to rest one full plane length off the runway, and perpendicular to the runway. The pilot exited the airplane, and noted that the right main landing gear had collapsed. Post crash examination revealed that the right aileron sustained structural damage.

The owner of the maintenance facility that repaired the airplane described the damage, which was initiated prior to notification of the Safety Board. He stated that the nose and left main landing gear remained down and locked with no damage to the gear or doors. The right main landing gear collapsed inboard. The inner gear door was scraped on the bottom edge. His mechanics changed the inner gear door, wing tip, aileron, flap, and step. They cycled the landing gear numerous times, and did not find any problems with the operating or warning systems.

Aircraft

Registration
N931B
Reported as
Beech N35
Category
Airplane
Serial number
D-6792
Engine
Teledyne Continental Motors IO-470-N, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Operator
Lance A. Waugh
Registered owner
Lance A. Waugh
Airworthiness certificate
Unknown
Departed
SFF · Spokane, WA
Destination
KDLS · The Dalles, OR
Airport
KDLS · The Dalles Municipal, runway 30, 5,097 × 100 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
48
Injuries
None
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Medical
Class 3, With waivers/limitations
Seat
Left
Flight hours
201 total · 25 in this make and model

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
350° at 12 knots, gusting 16
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Altimeter
30.00 inHg
Observed at
KDLS

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 N931B · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.