# NTSB SEA07LA210: Beech E-33C, N7927R, Laurel, MT, July 17, 2007 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 17, 2007, 14:45 local (20:45 UTC) - Place: Laurel, MT - Coordinates: 45.7, -108.761947 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.7000&lon=-108.7619&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report July 30, 2008 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 66279 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA07LA210 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/66279/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA07LA210 ## Probable cause The overload failure of the nose gear retract brace (drag link) during the landing roll. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Nose gear collapsed, landing - roll - landing gear,gear locking mechanism - overload (cause) ## Analysis The nose gear collapsed during the landing roll after an uneventful touchdown. An inspection of the gear system revealed that the nose gear retract brace (drag-link) had failed. The fracture surface of the brace was determined to have failed in a twisting overload. No preexisting damage or indication of fatigue was found. The reason for the twisting overload failure could not be determined. ## Factual narrative On July 17, 2007, approximately 1445 mountain daylight time, a Beech E-33C, N7927R, experienced a collapse of the nose gear during the landing roll at Laurel Municipal Airport, Laurel, Montana. The Certified Flight Instructor and his student where not injured, but the airplane, which is owned by Rocky Mountain College, sustained substantial damage. The local 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight, which departed the same airport about 20 minutes earlier, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed, and there was no report of an ELT activation. According to the instructor and the student, the touchdown was uneventful, but during the landing roll the nose gear collapsed. A post-accident inspection of the gear system revealed that the nose gear retract brace (drag-link) had failed. The fracture surface of the brace was analyzed by the NTSB Materials Laboratory, and it was determined that it had failed in a manner consistent with a twisting overload. No preexisting damage or indication of fatigue was found. The reason for the twisting overload failure could not be determined. The failure of the brace resulted in structural damage to the area around the nose gear wheel well. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N7927R](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N7927R), registered now, S/N CJ-20, built 1969 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Beech E-33C - Registry model: [Beech E33C](https://openairdocs.org/model/beech-e33c) (registry code 1151432) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (registry code 17032, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: CJ-20 - Airframe hours: 5677 - Engines: Continental IO-520-BA 285 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Registered owner: Rocky Mountain College - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, June 1, 2007 - Departed: 6S8, Laurel, MT - Destination: 6S8 - Flight plan: Company VFR - Airport: 6S8, Laurel Municipal Airport, runway 04, 5,200 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Flight instructor; age 55; injuries: none; airline transport, flight instructor; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: helicopter, airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review February 1, 2007; seat: right; flight hours: 13,300 total, 513 in this make and model, 11,320 as pilot in command, 146 in the last 90 days, 54 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours - Student pilot; age 21; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; last flight review June 1, 2006; seat: left; flight hours: 210 total, 21 in this make and model, 140 as pilot in command, 17 in the last 90 days, 7 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 60° at 5 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 95 °F - Altimeter: 30.02 inHg - Observed at: 6S8, 1 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20070717013009A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20070717013009A), Jul 17, 2007: Beech E33C, Laurel, MT, Minor damage. (-23) On July 17, 2007, at 1425 hours, mountain time, a Beechcraft bonanza, N7927R, registered to rocky mountain college, incurred a nose gear collapse after… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.