Beech D35 accident near Sevierville, TN
On May 19, 2016, a Beech D35 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Sevierville, TN. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- May 19, 2016
- Place
- Sevierville, TN
- Aircraft
- Beech D35 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 35.858°N, 83.520°W
- NTSB ID
- 20160519X25723
Official records · ERA16FA188
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn May 19, 2016, about 1139 eastern daylight time, a Beech D35, N2967B, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during an aborted landing, following a gear-up touchdown, at Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport (GKT) Sevierville, Tennessee. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to a private individual and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight that departed from GKT about 1102. Review of video recordings obtained from security cameras at GKT revealed that the airplane taxied out for departure about 1057. The airplane took off from runway 10 about 1102. About 1138, the airplane approached the runway and touched down with the landing gear up and the wing flaps down. The airplane appeared to skip slightly, became airborne, and climbed slowly with visible oscillations in pitch and roll until it was about 25 ft above the runway surface where it flew out of view of the camera. According to witnesses, the pilot had departed and flown around the area for about 30 minutes before returning to land on runway 10 at GKT. During the landing, the airplane touched down with the landing gear in the up position; the propeller struck the ground; and the airplane skidded along the ground on its belly. Then, the engine was heard to "rev up," and the airplane lifted off. It appeared to be "very unstable in ground effect" and then pitched up, rolled to the left, and impacted terrain. PER
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to properly configure the landing gear and the pilot's inappropriate decision to abort the landing after the propeller had contacted the runway, which resulted in a loss of thrust and a subsequent loss of control of the airplane.
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Browse: Tennessee · Beech aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
