- Date
- October 10, 2000, 14:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Fork Union, VA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N68HWBeech BE-23-B24R
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 17, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20001010039279A
- Case key
- 50433
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The pilot's inadequate flare which resulted in a hard landing. A factor related to the accident was the uneven landing area condition.
Analysis
The airplane touched down on its main landing gear prior to a dirt road that crossed the runway, followed by the nose gear touching down about 18 feet farther. The pilot felt the nose gear fail and attempted to keep the nose of the airplane off the ground. The airplane then veered to the right, impacted a tree and came to rest in a wooded area. A Federal Aviation Administration Inspector examined fractured pieces of the nose wheel assembly, which were found on the ground prior to the dirt road that crossed the runway. The inspector did not observe any beach marks, fracture lines, corrosion, or progressive scoring on the fracture surfaces. The inspector added that the fracture surfaces were "clean, typical of overload failure." The inspector additionally stated that the runway had a down-sloping crown on both ends of the runway. The pilot did not report any previous problems with the nose gear and that the turf was in good condition. The pilot additionally stated that, while flaring, "when you drop the nose, the runway is higher than normal."
Factual narrative
On October 10, 2000, about 1400 Eastern Daylight Time, a Beech BE-23-B24R, N68HW, was substantially damaged while landing at the F.U.M.A. Airport, Fork Union, Virginia. The certificated private pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the pilot, he was landing on Runway 34, a 3,575-foot long, 100 foot wide, grass strip. He stated that, while flaring, "when you drop the nose, the runway is higher than normal." The airplane touched down on its main landing gear prior to a dirt road that crossed the runway, followed by the nose gear touching down about 18 feet farther. The pilot felt the nose gear fail and attempted to keep the nose of the airplane off the ground. The airplane then veered to the right, impacted a tree and came to rest in a wooded area.
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined fractured pieces of the nose wheel assembly, which were found on the ground prior to the dirt road that crossed the runway. The inspector did not observe any beach marks, fracture lines, corrosion, or progressive scoring on the fracture surfaces. The inspector added that the fracture surfaces were "clean, typical of overload failure." The inspector additionally stated that the runway had a down-sloping crown on both ends of the runway.
The pilot did not report any previous problems with the nose gear and that the turf was in good condition. The pilot said he had landed the airplane on grass strips "many times" in the past.
The winds reported at a nearby airport were from 290 degrees at 5 knots.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N68HW
- Reported as
- Beech BE-23-B24R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- MC-404
- Airframe hours
- 3,711
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1B6, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- George R. Schell
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 15, 2000 · 3 hours before
- Departed
- ORF · Norfolk, VA
- Destination
- VA36
- Airport
- VA36 · F.U.M.A. Airport, runway 34, 3,575 × 100 ft, grass/turf
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
- 64
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 865 total · 800 as pilot in command · 35 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CHO, 23 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.