Beechcraft A36 N6742S

Summary

On 10 February 2005 at about 23:30 local time, a Beechcraft A36 registered N6742S, operated by John Schwegmann, was involved in an accident near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, United States. 3 people were 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

10 February 2005 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, United States

Nearest airport

Bay St. Louis (KHSA)

Coordinates

30.3678, -89.4547

Aircraft

Beechcraft A36

Registration

N6742S

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

John Schwegmann

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bay St. Louis → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC05LA029

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to use the manual emergency landing gear extension mechanism during the approach to land, which resulted in the electrically actuated main landing gear collapsing during the landing roll. A factor associated with the accident is an inoperative alternator.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot/owner of the airplane heard a low thumping noise during takeoff on several occasions, which he associated with the landing gear. He flew the airplane to an airport to have a mechanic familiar with his airplane troubleshoot the noise. After a visual inspection failed to reveal the problem, a test flight was initiated. The mechanic seated in the rear of the airplane heard the noise, and after flying around for a few minutes, requested a return to the airport. During extension of the landing gear, the 3 green (gear down/locked) lights failed to illuminate. The pilot cycled the gear, but the lights again failed to illuminate. He stated he thought he had heard all the appropriate sounds associated with proper landing gear extension, and elected to continue the landing, without attempting the manual extension of the gear as prescribed in the "Emergency Procedures" section of the pilot's operating handbook. During the landing roll the landing gear collapsed. Postaccident testing of the landing gear was conducted with the airplane on jacks. Tests revealed that the charge on the battery was insufficient to extend the electrically operated landing gear completely. The battery was found to be capable of taking a charge, but further tests revealed no output from the alternator. The alternator's rotor was found to be defective and the electrical brushes excessively worn.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.