Beechcraft 58 N391MC

Summary

On 10 December 2009 at about 17:05 local time, a Beechcraft 58 registered N391MC, operated by Air Lexington Inc, was involved in an incident near Lexington, Kentucky, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 December 2009 at 17:05

Classification

Incident

Location

Lexington, Kentucky, United States

Nearest airport

Blue Grass Airport (LEX)

Coordinates

38.0364, -84.6058

Aircraft

Beechcraft 58

Registration

N391MC

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Air Lexington Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lexington → Lexington

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA10IA095

Nobody was injured.

The overstress failure of the nose landing gear aft drag brace.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilots were practicing instrument approaches and performed a missed approach. At that time, the landing gear was retracted and the corresponding gear retracted cockpit indication was noted; however, the approach controller advised the pilots that the nose landing gear appeared to remain in the extended position. The pilots then selected the nose landing gear to the extended position and noted the corresponding gear extended cockpit indication. During a subsequent landing, the nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane slid to a stop on the runway. Examination of the airplane revealed that the right side of the nose landing gear aft drag brace had separated. Metallurgical examination revealed that the origin point of the fracture was consistent with overstress, and the fracture extended from the origin point over a significant period of time. The airplane had accumulated over 10,000 hours of flight time, and the initiation of the overstress event was most likely the result of a previous hard landing or landings. Review of the maintenance manual for the make and model airplane revealed that the nose gear was an "on condition" inspection item; however, the fracture was in an area that would not be easily visible or detected by a mechanic during an inspection.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.