Beechcraft 65-A90-1 N80Y

Summary

On 18 May 2023 at about 15:59 local time, a Beechcraft 65-A90-1 registered N80Y, operated by Dynamic Aviation Group, Inc., was involved in an accident near Petersburg, West Virginia, United States. 2 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

18 May 2023 at 15:59

Classification

Accident

Location

Petersburg, West Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Grant County Airport (W99)

Coordinates

38.9958, -79.1486

Aircraft

Beechcraft 65-A90-1

Registration

N80Y

Category

Airplane

Year built

1967

Engines

2

Operator

Dynamic Aviation Group, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA23LA237

Nobody was injured.

The flight crew’s failure to ensure that the landing gear were properly configured before landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and the flight instructor were performing flight training in the turbo-propeller-powered, multi-engine airplane. After completing two uneventful takeoffs and landings, the instructor and the pilot briefed that they would next perform a no-flap landing. While on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern, the pilot called for the before landing checklist. The instructor began reading the checklist, the pilot pushed the propeller controls fully forward, and the flight instructor mentioned that the pilot needed to hold the airplane’s attitude in order to slow the airplane to the desired airspeed. The flight instructor further described, “I was coaching the [pilot] on centerline and speed and neither of us realized that we had not completed the landing checklist.” During the landing flare, the flight instructor heard a metallic scraping sound, and began to abort the landing, about which time the pilot noted that the landing gear was not extended. After two attempts to increase engine power and climb, the flight instructor realized that the airplane was not controllable and decided to land on the grass next to the runway with the landing gear retracted. The airplane’s right wing was substantially damaged during the landing. The operator reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation, nor did either of the flight crew report any, with the exception that neither crewmember recalled hearing the landing gear position warning system horn activate at any point. Maintenance personnel tested the system following the accident and noted no anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.