Beechcraft A-36 N3869Z

Summary

On 1 August 2002 at about 00:45 local time, a Beechcraft A-36 registered N3869Z was involved in an accident near West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 August 2002 at 00:45

Classification

Accident

Location

West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Allegheny County (AGC)

Coordinates

40.3542, -79.9300

Aircraft

Beechcraft A-36

Registration

N3869Z

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Latrobe → West Mifflin

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

IAD02LA079

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the alternator. A factor was the pilot's inability to manually extend the landing gear.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that immediately after takeoff, he lost the use of the radios and other electrical equipment. The red landing gear position light remained dimly illuminated, which indicated that the landing gear was neither securely stowed or in the down and locked position. The red alternator-out warning light was also illuminated, and the ammeter registered a discharge. The pilot contacted a 911 dispatcher on his cell phone, reported his landing intentions and proceeded toward the airport. He attempted to manually extend the landing gear with the emergency landing gear extension hand crank located behind his seat, but was unable to engage the hand crank handle. Once at the airport, the pilot flew by the control tower and a controller confirmed that the landing gear were not fully extended. The pilot then flew several traffic pattern circuits before landing on a grassy area next to a runway. Upon touchdown, the airplane continued on a straight path until it collided with a runway marker, veered left, and stopped. Examination of the alternator revealed an open rotor circuit between the F1 and F2 terminals. In addition, alternator disassembly revealed an open rotor between the rotor and slip rings. According to the airplane's pilot operating handbook, an inoperative alternator would have placed the entire electrical system operation of the airplane except engine ignition on the battery, and would have been indicated by the illumination of the ALT OUT warning light and a discharge on the ammeter.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.