- Date
- February 26, 2021, 12:05 local (19:05 UTC)
- Place
- Tucson, AZ · Airport environment
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N4499DBeech G35
- Defining event
- Landing: Landing gear not configured
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20210226000739A
- Case key
- 102765
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 distraction in the cockpit which interrupted his pre-landing checklist which resulted in his failure to configure the landing gear prior to touchdown.
Findings · 3
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
The pilot reported that while in the local traffic pattern, he was distracted by radio transmissions from the tower air traffic controller regarding maintaining his airspeed and multiple landing runway reassignments. His pre-landing check was interrupted, and he did not lower the landing gear, and landed gear up on the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the undercarriage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. The pilot reported that he was wearing noise-cancelling headsets and did not hear the warning horn. During the airplane recovery, the pilot reported that the throttle was in the retarded position and the warning horn was blaring. The landing gear handle was placed in the “down” position and extended normally.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4499D
- Reported as
- Beech G35
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- D-4724
- Built
- 1956
- Airframe hours
- 5,946.3
- Engine
- Cont Motor E225-8, 225 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 2020 · 19.2 hours before
- Departed
- CMA · Camarillo, CA
- Destination
- TUS · Tucson, AZ
- Airport
- TUS · Tucson Intl, runway 11L/29R, 10,996 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Onboard weather, Handheld GPS
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
- 75
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight engineer
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Sport pilot, Unknown
- Last flight review
- November 11, 2020
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 900 in this make and model · 3,500 as pilot in command · 11 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 5 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- KTUS, 1 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KTUS 261853Z 00000KT 10SM CLR 16/M15 A3004 RMK AO2 SLP153 T01561150=
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 1, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.0 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.