The Beech 95 had been parked on a ramp under a tarp for approximately a year, and this was the first flight after an annual inspection.
According to the pilot, on final approach to the airport in Bremerton, Washington, the gear selector lever was down, and the landing gear indicator green light was illuminated.
He told investigators the gear collapsed a few seconds after touchdown, and after viewing the damage, he believed the gear never extended.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage at the lateral wing spar carry-through structure.
A post-accident examination immediately following the accident revealed that the landing gear did not extend with the gear selector lever in the down position, although the gear status light illuminated green. The aural gear warning horn, which was designed to activate if the gear was retracted with the throttles at low engine power, was also not audible.
Further examination of the gear extension system revealed the landing gear down limit and down indicator switch, along with the interconnected warning horn switch, were stuck in the normally open (NO) position. The NO condition had caused this portion of the electrical circuit to falsely indicate a landing gear down and safe position even though the landing gear was retracted.
The NO condition also disabled the landing gear motor circuit and the landing gear warning horn circuit.
In this condition the down and locked indicator only needed the landing gear position switch selected to the down position to complete the circuit for a green light gear down indication.
After restoring normal operation to the switches, the landing gear extension and gear warning horn operated normally.
Probable Cause: Failure of the down limit and down indicator switch and the warning horn switch assemblies, which prevented the landing gear from extending and at the same time providing a false indication that the landing gear was extended.
To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.
This April 2023 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
YES; been there in a Presidential Barron (300hp).
1974; I did EXACTLY this in Beech Mountain, NC with people on board:
Gear switch down
Green light on
No dang horn
All confirmed by a pilot/pax in the backseat!
Wild approach from IMC through mountains. As I faired the left prop stopped with a Q-tip configuration. I pulled it up a few feet, feathered both props and…belly/boarding step/open gear doors…kluk/screech. I thru the door open and ordered the 3 pax out; they argued because “The FBIO was 2,000 ahead of us and it was raining!” One smartguy told me at the bar later it was the smoothest landing he ever sat through. Humph.
Step and belly were undamaged, main gear doors were almost fully open as were the nose gear doors and they took the damage with the main still on those funky roller locks. Removed/replaced said gear doors and props, the engines passed a crankshaft runout test NP.
This was an older bird that didn’t have three (3) separate indicator sensor switches/panel lights. It had 1 (one) sensor switch on the crank under the seat. The crank made its full rotation to hit the sensor switch but the gear was hung up on the uplock rollers; only moved the main gear doors and the nose gear far enough to make my landing AWESOME!
I am now (then) the pilot that HAD landed gear up. What fun.
NOW, after 39 years I finally know what happened. Thanks NTSB/FAA and especially GAN!
This particular incident/accident has demonstrated that this gear control system needs an AD. If the switches can get stuck in the wrong position so that selecting gear down does NOTHING, while indicating that the gear is down, disabling the gear horn, etc. then these need to be inspected to ensure they are not bound or whatever that caused them to be stuck in the gear down situation so that the motor doesn’t get actuated.
Further, if jacked up and doing the gear swing tests didn’t detect this situation, then this design is faulty.
When extending gear and/or flaps, the pilot should be alert for noises from the gear/flap motors which activate, the change in drag which follows, changes in pitch, and the power required to maintain speed. If those signs are missing the gear didn’t extend, but hopefully it will with the emergency extension procedure.
Must not have put the plane on jacks for the annual gear test.
“In this condition the down and locked indicator only needed the landing gear position switch selected to the down position to complete the circuit for a green light gear down indication.” The engineers responsible for this design should be tarred and feathered. This was positive confirmation only that the lever was in the down position, not the wheel assemblies. it assumes (there’s that word again) that mechanical wheel-down actuation followed the lever selection choice. Wrong! Disgraceful design.
Regards/J
The 1959 B-95 Travel Air is essentially a twin-engine derivative of the early, single-engine, Model 35 Bonanza.
(Not the same as the much bigger & heavier 50-series ‘Twin Bonanza’).
The then-pioneering, light aircraft, retractable, tricycle landing gear design is from the mid-1940’s…so tarring & feathering the ‘responsible’ engineers?
Probably not an option.
One must remember that James B. Potter is not a licensed pilot nor airplane owner when he comes on here with his emphatic comments like this.
So whoever inspected the plane and claimed it was good to go should be liable with fines or consequences since they deemed it A Okay.. I wouldn’t want them inspecting my plane!
Amen !
Regards/J