N2035Q

On September 07, 2000, at 1200 central daylight time, a Cessna 177RG retractable-gear airplane, N2035Q, was substantially damaged when it landed gear-up at the Baxter County Regional Airport near Mountain Home, Arkansas. The private pilot, who was the owner and operator of the airplane, and his three passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The flight originated at 0930, from Corinth, Mississippi, and was destined for Branson, Missouri.

According to the pilot's written statement, the airplane's fuel quantity gauges were indicating that fuel was only being used from the left fuel tank. The pilot elected to land at Gaston, Missouri, to examine the fuel tanks and quantity gauges. When the pilot was approaching Gaston, he realized that the landing gear would not extend. The pilot attempted to manually pump the landing gear down, but that failed to extend the landing gear. The pilot elected to land at the Baxter County Regional Airport where emergency personnel were in place. The airplane landed gear-up on Runway 5.

According to an FAA inspector, who responded to the accident site, the firewall and fuselage were buckled. Examination of the landing gear's hydraulic reservoir revealed that it was empty. According to the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2), the airplane underwent its last annual inspection on August 22, 2000, at an aircraft total time of 2,120 hours. The accident occurred 8 hours after the annual inspection.