History of Flight
On January 7, 2012, at approximately 1628 Pacific standard time, a Beech 58P (registration N580TC) was substantially damaged when it landed with the landing gear retracted on runway 19L at John Wayne Airport/Orange County Airport (SNA), Santa Ana, California. The owner-pilot and four passengers were not injured. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.
According to the pilot, the airplane was based at Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA), California, and was en route to SNA with a planned overflight of Catalina Island. The airplane was equipped with one alternator per engine, with loadmeters and annunciator lights for each. Over Catalina, both "ALT" annunciator lights illuminated and the loadmeters indicated zero output. The pilot switched off some electrical equipment and checked the circuit breaker panel but found no breakers popped. He then recycled both alternator switches; the ALT lights extinguished and indications returned to normal. Unaware of the underlying cause and concerned about electrical power availability as night fell, he proceeded to SNA.
While inbound to the runway, the pilot selected flaps and landing gear down. On short final, he noticed none of the three landing gear position green lights were illuminated. He informed the air traffic control tower and executed a go-around. He performed a flyby of the tower and asked the controller to observe the landing gear. The pilot believed the controller stated the gear appeared extended. Consequently, he did not recycle the gear and, due to concerns about further problems and approaching darkness, did not review or execute any abnormal landing gear checklists. Cleared to land, the pilot touched down with the gear fully retracted.
Personnel Information
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with multi-engine land and other ratings. He reported approximately 972 total flight hours, including about 54 hours multi-engine time, all in the accident airplane make and model. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued in March 2011.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was manufactured in 1977 and first registered to the pilot in April 2011. It had been substantially damaged in a previous landing gear-related accident in March 2010 by another pilot, who neglected to extend the gear. After that accident, the airplane was repaired by Aircraftsman at Chino Airport (CNO), California, and sold to the current owner. The most recent annual inspection was completed in February 2011.
Meteorological Information
The SNA 1647 automated weather observation reported winds from 210 degrees at 5 knots, visibility 6 miles, clear skies, temperature 14°C, dew point 9°C, and an altimeter setting of 29.94 inches of mercury. Local sunset occurred at 1659, and civil twilight ended at 1726, 31 and 58 minutes after the event, respectively.
Airport Information
SNA had two runways: 1R/19L (2,887 ft by 75 ft) and 1L/19R (5,701 ft by 150 ft). Airport elevation was 56 feet MSL. The air traffic control tower was staffed and operational at the time.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane came to rest upright about halfway down runway 19L. All three landing gear were fully retracted, with gear doors closed. All six propeller blades were bent from ground contact. Several areas of fuselage skin and structure were abraded by the runway skid, constituting substantial damage.
Additional Information
Post-accident, FAA personnel did not examine the airplane until January 9, 2012, due to the weekend. The FAA inspector found the landing gear handle selected down and the landing gear motor circuit breaker popped. The event was initially classified as an incident. The inspector instructed that the airplane not be disturbed without permission.
On January 9, the owner coordinated with Martin Aviation (a Beech service center at SNA) for further examination. That evening, a Martin technician found the airplane raised on jacks. Subsequently, it was discovered that Aircraftsman personnel had raised the airplane, after which another aircraft blew it off the jacks, causing right wing leading edge damage. Aircraftsman then re-raised the airplane and manually extended the gear, all without authorization. On January 11, the airplane was found standing on its landing gear with new wing damage.
Martin Aviation recovered the airplane to their facility using sling equipment. The gear was confirmed locked down, and the airplane was towed into a hangar. On January 17, the FAA inspector and a Martin technician tested the landing gear system: resetting the circuit breaker, retracting the gear using external power, extending it manually and normally, and cycling it multiple times. All functions and indications were normal. The inspector and technician determined the landing gear extension/retraction system was fully operational.
Additional pilot recollections: He estimated flying less than five minutes with alternators off line; heard the gear motor run "for what sounded like the full extension" after selecting gear down; and heard the landing gear warning horn during the go-around and landing. He did not recall communicating with an Aircraftsman representative.
A Beech air safety investigator noted that the successful FAA gear cycles eliminated the possibility of a mechanical issue. He stated that simultaneous alternator failures were highly unlikely and that a more probable cause was the pilot forgetting to turn on the alternators during start, though the annunciator lights should alert to that condition. The investigator estimated unsustained battery life at 30-45 minutes, roughly the flight time from SBA to Catalina.