What happened
On April 23, 2017, a Beechcraft 58, registration PT-STO, was performing a local flight departing from the Aeroclube de Santa Catarina (SSKT) in São José, Brazil. The flight included a touch-and-go maneuver at Florianópolis Airport (SBFL) before returning to SSKT for landing.
During the approach to SSKT, the pilot established a long final and configured the aircraft with flaps set to full down approximately 3 nautical miles from the runway threshold. Upon crossing the runway threshold, the pilot reduced engine power to idle. The aircraft made initial contact with the runway on the main gear, followed by the nose gear. Immediately after touchdown, the landing gear retracted, causing the aircraft to veer to the right and exit the runway. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the propellers, engines, landing gear, lower cowling, and left flap, though both occupants escaped without injury.
The investigation
CENIPA investigators conducted a functional and visual inspection of the landing gear mechanism. They found no structural or mechanical failures that would have caused an inadvertent retraction. The aircraft's system relies on an electric motor and a worm gear mechanism to extend and lock the gear into the downlock position. The investigation confirmed that the mechanical locking mechanism was intact and only showed damage resulting from the impact of the retraction.
Surveillance footage from a nearby hangar provided critical evidence. The video showed the aircraft approaching with a low ramp and the landing gear already retracted. The footage revealed that the pilot initiated the gear extension only as the aircraft crossed the runway threshold. Because the extension and locking process for the BE-58 takes between four and five seconds, and the aircraft touched down approximately three seconds after crossing the threshold, the gear had not yet reached the downlock position at the moment of impact.
Findings
- The pilot had sufficient flight experience but had only 6.5 hours of flight time in this specific aircraft model.
- The pilot delayed the landing gear extension until crossing the runway threshold.
- The failure to complete the landing gear extension sequence before touchdown caused the gear to retract upon impact.
- The pilot failed to maintain a stabilized approach and did not adhere to the required minimum time for gear deployment as specified in the aircraft's operating manual.
- Contributing factors included errors in pilot judgment, flight indiscipline, and attitude.