Accident Overview
On December 10, 2009, at 1856 central standard time, a Beech model 200 airplane, registration N411BL, was substantially damaged during an emergency gear-up landing on runway 24 at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (STL), St. Louis, Missouri. The flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on an instrument flight rules flight plan. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot, an airline transport pilot, and the six passengers on board were not injured. The flight had departed Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport (MKC), Kansas City, Missouri, and its intended destination was STL.
Pilot Actions
The pilot stated that on initial approach, about six miles from the runway, he attempted to lower the landing gear but nothing happened. He cycled the gear several times with no effect and executed a missed approach to troubleshoot. Following the checklist for gear malfunction and manual gear extension, he pulled the gear circuit breaker, pulled the extension lever out, rotated it 90 degrees clockwise to engage the system, and pumped about 40 to 50 times but felt no pressure. During low approaches, air traffic controllers confirmed the landing gear was not extended. The pilot then executed a gear-up emergency landing. The pilot and passengers exited through the main cabin door.
Post-Accident Inspection
A post-accident inspection revealed that the landing gear lever was in the down position, the extension lever was unstowed, and the emergency engagement handle was in the down position (not engaged). Movement of the extension lever at that time did not produce any corresponding movement of the landing gear torque shafts. When the engagement handle was subsequently pulled up and rotated to lock it in the engaged position, movement of the extension lever then produced corresponding movement in the torque shafts. With the airplane supported on jacks, manual extension of the landing gear was successful in that configuration.
Further examination found that the landing gear motor circuit breaker was open (popped). The circuit breaker was located adjacent to the motor under the cabin floor panel, aft of the forward wing spar. After resetting the circuit breaker and applying electrical power, the landing gear operated normally using both the normal and manual systems.
Aircraft Maintenance
Maintenance records indicated that the most recent continuous airworthiness phase inspection was completed on August 25, 2009. At the time of the accident, the airframe total time was approximately 9,648 hours, with 9,670 total cycles.