Beechcraft F33A N85WM

Summary

On 24 April 2026 at about 16:15 local time, a Beechcraft F33A registered N85WM was involved in an accident near Sanford, North Carolina, 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

24 April 2026 at 16:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Sanford, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Raleigh Exec Jetport At Sanfor (TTA)

Coordinates

35.5805, -79.1023

Aircraft

Beechcraft F33A

Registration

N85WM

Category

Airplane

Year built

1981

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA26LA191

Nobody was injured.

A loss of electrical power as a result of broken stator leads within the alternator, which resulted in the pilot’s inability to extend the airplane’s 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 after practicing instrument approaches with the flight instructor, they were returning to the airport. While in the traffic pattern, the pilot lowered the flaps with no problems noted, but as he attempted to lower the landing gear, the airplane lost electrical power. The pilot performed a low pass of the airport and reported that individuals on the ground confirmed that the landing gear were down, but they were unsure if they were in the locked position. The pilot then attempted to lower the landing gear with the hand crank, and he managed to make about 20 total turns (of about 50 normally needed to fully extend the landing gear) before he was unable to turn the crank any further. During the subsequent landing, the nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage. Postaccident examination flight data recovered from avionics onboard the airplane revealed that shortly after departing on the accident flight, current parameter indicated a discharge from the battery for the remainder of the flight and electrical bus voltage began to slowly decrease. A postaccident examination and functional test of the alternator revealed that the case halves of the alternator had vibrated apart and that the alternator had was not functioning. It was disassembled and the stator leads were found to be broken at the rectifier attachment point.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.