- Date
- December 11, 2016, 11:57 local (19:57 UTC)
- Place
- Anacortes, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7998LBeech A23 24
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Landing gear collapse
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- FAA report
- 20161211020189A
- Case key
- 94501
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 pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll, which resulted in a runway excursion and separation of the left main landing gear.
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.
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
During the landing roll, the airplane began to swerve to the left and continued off the runway, after which the left main landing gear assembly separated from the airplane. Examination revealed substantial damage to the left wing and horizontal stabilizer. The pilot did not provide a written statement, nor did he complete the NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report Form 6120.1; therefore, the pilot's flight experience and the airplane's maintenance history could not be determined. The accident is consistent with the pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll.
Factual narrative
On December 11, 2016, about 1157 Pacific standard time, a Beech A23-19, N7998L, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Anacortes Airport (74S), Anacortes, Washington. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot reported to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector that, during landing, the airplane began to swerve to the left and continued off the runway, during which the left main landing gear separated. The inspector traveled to the accident site and examined the airplane, which sustained substantial damage to the left wing and horizontal stabilizer. The pilot did not provide a written statement, nor did he complete the NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report Form 6120.1; therefore, the pilot's flight experience and the airplane's maintenance history could not be determined.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7998L
- Reported as
- Beech A23 24 (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- MA-161
- Built
- 1966
- Engine
- Lycoming I0360 SER, 225 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 74S · Anacortes, runway 18/36, 3,015 × 60 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
- 69
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 0 total · 0 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,400 ft broken
- Temperature
- 5 °F, dew point 4 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
- Observed at
- KBVS, 9.7 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 3, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.7 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.