Beechcraft 95-B55 (T42A) N916MT

Summary

On 29 December 2020 at about 16:50 local time, a Beechcraft 95-B55 (T42A) registered N916MT was involved in an accident near Westfield, Massachusetts, 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

29 December 2020 at 16:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Westfield, Massachusetts, United States

Nearest airport

Westfield-Barnes Rgnl (BAF)

Coordinates

42.1583, -72.7160

Aircraft

Beechcraft 95-B55 (T42A)

Registration

N916MT

Category

Airplane

Year built

1973

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Springfield → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA21LA093

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during the landing and his failure to confirm that the landing gear was extended before landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the twin-engine airplane was landing in gusty wind conditions and thought that he had extended the landing gear. As he began to flare, he felt a bump and attributed it to the wind. The pilot then pitched the nose of the airplane up and quickly put his hand on the landing gear lever to confirm that the landing gear was down. The airplane began to roll to the right, so he returned his hand to the throttles to reduce power on the right engine, and the airplane impacted the ground on the left wing and nose. The belly of the airplane then hit the ground and the airplane slid upright before coming to a stop, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. Airport surveillance video captured the airplane as it began to flare over the runway with the landing gear retracted. The airplane then pitched up and the landing gear was observed extending while the airplane was just a few feet above the runway. The left-wing then dropped and impacted the ground followed by the nose and fuselage. The pilot said, “By all accounts, I did not lower the landing gear.” However, he did not recall extending the gear after the airplane pitched up during the flare. He said he may have partially extended the gear on downwind because he never confirmed that the “green” gear-down lights were illuminated. The pilot said he normally announces the pre-landing checklist out loud but did not do it on this flight. Due to the gusty wind conditions, he landed with partial flaps, higher airspeed, and power setting. As a result, this configuration did not trigger the landing gear warning horn.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.