Albuquerque International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106
Sunday, August 31, 1997 17:40 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During initial climb following takeoff from Santa Rosa on a medical evacuation flight, with a patient and 2 flight nurses aboard, the right main landing gear failed to fully retract. Prior to landing at Albuquerque the right main landing gear did not lock in the down position. During landing roll, the right main landing gear collapsed. Examination of the landing gear provided evidence that the retraction/extension torque tube failed in fatigue.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Fatigue failure of the right main landing gear retraction/extension torque tube.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/31/1997
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1740
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City ALBUQUERQUE
Event State NEW MEXICO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 87106
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport ALBUQUERQUE INTERNATIONAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID ABQ
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 5313
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 0 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 350
Weather Observation Facility ID ABQ
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 9000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 230
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 8000
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1195
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 31 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2252
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:29PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N16NM
NTSB Number FTW97LA334
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model E90
Aircraft Series Identifier E90
Aircraft Serial Number LW62
Certified Max Gross Weight 10100
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 7
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Aug 5 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 62
Airframe Hours 9965
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name SEVEN BAR FLYING SERVICE
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2505 CLARK CARR LOOP SE
Aircraft Owner City ALBUQUERQUE
Aircraft Owner State NM
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 87106
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code GNLA
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code Q58
Departure City SANTA ROSA
Departure State NM
Departure Country
Departure Time 1634
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code ABQ
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 21
Runway Length 10000
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight Yes
Medical Flight Medical Emergency