On July 1, 1985, a Beech 95-B55 (registration N18387) was involved in an aviation accident near Thermal, CA. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
A pilot mistakenly pulled the landing gear lever instead of the flap lever during a landing roll, causing the right main gear to retract. No mechanical failures were found.
Incident Overview
During the conclusion of a cross-country business flight, the pilot reported that after easing the nosewheel down onto the runway, he reached for the flap lever. However, he inadvertently placed his hand on the landing gear lever instead. As he pulled the lever out of the detent, he realized his mistake and let go before moving the lever to the up position.
Gear Retraction
Despite the pilot's immediate release, the right main landing gear retracted during the landing roll. The pilot noted that this occurred even though the fuel weight was not on the main landing gear.
Maintenance Inspection
During subsequent repair and functional testing of the landing gear system, no part failures or system malfunctions were identified. The gear system operated normally under test conditions.