N2967B

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn May 19, 2016, about 1139 eastern daylight time, a Beech D35, N2967B, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during an aborted landing, following a gear-up touchdown, at Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport (GKT) Sevierville, Tennessee. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to a private individual and operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight that departed from GKT about 1102.

Review of video recordings obtained from security cameras at GKT revealed that the airplane taxied out for departure about 1057. The airplane took off from runway 10 about 1102. About 1138, the airplane approached the runway and touched down with the landing gear up and the wing flaps down. The airplane appeared to skip slightly, became airborne, and climbed slowly with visible oscillations in pitch and roll until it was about 25 ft above the runway surface where it flew out of view of the camera.

According to witnesses, the pilot had departed and flown around the area for about 30 minutes before returning to land on runway 10 at GKT. During the landing, the airplane touched down with the landing gear in the up position; the propeller struck the ground; and the airplane skidded along the ground on its belly. Then, the engine was heard to "rev up," and the airplane lifted off. It appeared to be "very unstable in ground effect" and then pitched up, rolled to the left, and impacted terrain. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONAccording to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the pilot held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on March 24, 2015.

According to pilot records, the pilot had accrued about 210 total hours of flight experience, 157 hours of which were as pilot-in-command. He had received 3.1 hours of flight instruction in the accident airplane in April 2015, but no record of a complex or high-performance endorsement was found. His most recent flight review endorsement was dated November 25, 2005. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe airplane was a complex, high-performance, low-wing, single-engine airplane of conventional metal construction. It was equipped with retractable tricycle-type landing gear and wing flaps, and it was powered by a 205-horsepower, air-cooled, 6-cylinder, horizontally-opposed, Continental E-185-11 engine driving a Hartzell 2-bladed, variable-pitch, constant-speed propeller.

According to FAA and airplane maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 1953. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on November 1, 2015. At the time of the inspection, the airplane had accrued about 6,029.8 total hours of operation.

Landing Gear System

When retracted, the airplane's landing gear was fully enclosed by the landing gear doors. The landing gear system was electrically operated. Power for retraction was transmitted through push-pull rods from arms on the gearbox to the "A" frame assemblies at each wheel. Landing gear limit switches were located above the gearbox and were actuated by the main wheel retraction arms. Automatic locking was provided in the down position when the gear was extended. The landing gear was operated by a using the landing gear position switch, which could be identified by sight or touch as a small wheel on a flat surface switch, located on the right inboard lower portion of the instrument panel.

A landing gear warning chime was activated by two switches connected in series; one above the gearbox, which was activated by an angle on the landing gear actuator spider, and the other on the throttle control at the carburetor end. The landing gear warning chime would annunciate when the throttle was reduced, and the landing gear was not fully extended.

Landing gear position lights were installed to indicate the position of the landing gear. When the red landing gear position light was illuminated, the landing gear was fully retracted. When the green landing gear position light was illuminated, the landing gear was fully extended. When neither light was illuminated, the landing gear was in an intermediate position. Position of the landing gear could also be visually confirmed by use of a mechanical landing gear position indicator which was just above the floor, in front of and between the pilot's and copilot's seats.

An emergency landing gear extension hand crank was provided for the manual extension of the landing gear in case of a malfunction. The hand crank was located between the front seats. It was operated by placing the landing gear circuit breaker in the "OFF" position, then placing the landing gear position switch in the down position, removing the safety strap, moving the handle down into the cranking position, and turning the handle clockwise. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONAt 1135, the reported weather at GKT included wind 080° at 6 knots, visibility 10 miles, few clouds at 2,700 ft, an overcast ceiling at 3,500 ft, temperature 18°C, dew point 11°C, and an altimeter setting of 30.09 inches of mercury. AIRPORT INFORMATIONThe airplane was a complex, high-performance, low-wing, single-engine airplane of conventional metal construction. It was equipped with retractable tricycle-type landing gear and wing flaps, and it was powered by a 205-horsepower, air-cooled, 6-cylinder, horizontally-opposed, Continental E-185-11 engine driving a Hartzell 2-bladed, variable-pitch, constant-speed propeller.

According to FAA and airplane maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 1953. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on November 1, 2015. At the time of the inspection, the airplane had accrued about 6,029.8 total hours of operation.

Landing Gear System

When retracted, the airplane's landing gear was fully enclosed by the landing gear doors. The landing gear system was electrically operated. Power for retraction was transmitted through push-pull rods from arms on the gearbox to the "A" frame assemblies at each wheel. Landing gear limit switches were located above the gearbox and were actuated by the main wheel retraction arms. Automatic locking was provided in the down position when the gear was extended. The landing gear was operated by a using the landing gear position switch, which could be identified by sight or touch as a small wheel on a flat surface switch, located on the right inboard lower portion of the instrument panel.

A landing gear warning chime was activated by two switches connected in series; one above the gearbox, which was activated by an angle on the landing gear actuator spider, and the other on the throttle control at the carburetor end. The landing gear warning chime would annunciate when the throttle was reduced, and the landing gear was not fully extended.

Landing gear position lights were installed to indicate the position of the landing gear. When the red landing gear position light was illuminated, the landing gear was fully retracted. When the green landing gear position light was illuminated, the landing gear was fully extended. When neither light was illuminated, the landing gear was in an intermediate position. Position of the landing gear could also be visually confirmed by use of a mechanical landing gear position indicator which was just above the floor, in front of and between the pilot's and copilot's seats.

An emergency landing gear extension hand crank was provided for the manual extension of the landing gear in case of a malfunction. The hand crank was located between the front seats. It was operated by placing the landing gear circuit breaker in the "OFF" position, then placing the landing gear position switch in the down position, removing the safety strap, moving the handle down into the cranking position, and turning the handle clockwise. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONExamination of runway 10 revealed propeller strike marks on the runway pavement in three different areas on the runway. The first set of propeller strikes began about 1,535 ft from the runway threshold and continued for about 51 ft. The second set of propeller strikes began about 1,714 ft from the runway threshold and continued for about 41 ft. The third set of propeller strikes began about 1,798 ft from the runway threshold and continued for about 45 ft. Examination of the propeller strike marks indicated that they were oriented mostly perpendicular to the runway's centerline markings and appeared to coincide with the airplane's flight path along the runway (see figure 1).

Figure 1 – Aerial image of runway 10 with the propeller strike marks and final wreckage positions annotated.

The wreckage was located about 450 ft beyond the departure end of runway 10 and left (northeast) of the extended centerline. The fuselage came to rest upright on a 195° magnetic heading, and the damage to the airplane was consistent with ground impact in a nose-low and right-wing-low attitude. The fuselage, wings, and empennage all exhibited areas of crush and compression damage, and most of the airplane's cabin section was consumed by fire. The cockpit door had separated during the impact sequence, and its latching mechanism was found in the closed and latched position.

The right wingtip fuel tank had separated from the right wing, and the outboard section of the right wing was bent downward and folded under the inboard section. The outboard 3 ft of the left wing were separated from the left wing. The wing flaps were in the up (retracted) position, and the pitot tube was free of obstructions.

The left and right main fuel tank caps were found in place and secured. The right main fuel tank was breached, and the left main fuel tank contained fuel. The fuel selector valve was in the left main tank position. Fuel was present in the tank selector valve, the fuel s...