- Date
- December 13, 1989, 12:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Cape Girardeau, MO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N525GTBeech 80
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 16, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 34919
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
An inoperative landing gear extension system due to failure of an electric motor and a misplaced emergency crank handle.
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 pilot said that when he departed on a personal cross country trip, the landing gear failed to retract completely. He continued his trip. After arriving at his destination, he was unable to get a safe gear indication and was unable to lower the gear by emergency procedures. Low passes past the tower confirmed all three wheels were down, but the nose gear appeared not to be in position. A landing was made. During the roll-out, all three gear legs collapsed. A post- accident investigation revealed the gear motor was burned out and the landing gear emergency pump was inoperative due to a misplaced crank handle.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N525GT
- Reported as
- Beech 80
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- LD421
- Airframe hours
- 5,600
- Engine
- Lycoming IGSO-540-A1D, 380 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Carpenter, William M., Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 16, 1988 · 100 hours before
- Departed
- PDK · Atlanta, GA
- Destination
- CGI
- Airport
- CGI · Cape Girardeau, runway 20, 3,996 × 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
- 58
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,500 total · 3,500 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 32 °F, dew point 12 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CGI