Beech E35 N3272C accident near Lincoln, Alabama

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to ensure that the landing gear were extended prior to landing.

NTSB analysis

Before departing, the pilot found that the airplane’s battery was “low,” so he connected it to a charger for 15 minutes, after which he was able to start the engine normally. He subsequently completed three flight legs uneventfully, and was returning to his home airport when the accident occurred. As the pilot approached the destination airport, he noted that there was a thunderstorm in the area and elected to perform a downwind landing. During the landing approach, the pilot moved the landing gear position lever to the down position and extended the flaps. Due to the position the position of an electronic flight bag device in the cockpit, he did not observe that the landing gear down position indicator had not illuminated, nor did he realize that the landing gear circuit breaker had tripped. The pilot subsequently landed the airplane with the landing gear retracted, which resulted in substantial damage to the underside of the airplane’s fuselage.

Postaccident testing of the airplane’s landing gear revealed that it functioned normally when external electrical power was applied, and that the landing gear position indication lights operated normally. Functional testing of the airplane’s alternator and ammeter revealed that they functioned normally, but that the airplane’s battery had little to no capacity due to having dead cells. It is likely that the battery’s degraded condition resulted in the tripped landing gear system circuit breaker during the accident flight, and resulted in the landing gear’s failure to extend. Had the pilot noticed that the landing gear did not extend as expected, he could have taken additional troubleshooting steps rather than continuing the landing with the landing gear not extended.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA26LA265 for the full record.