Gardner Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Gardner, Kansas 66030
Tuesady, November 25, 1997 13:09 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While practicing crosswind touch-and-go landings, the airplane touched down left of the centerline near the displaced threshold and bounced. The pilot added and removed power to let the airplane settle to the runway. The landing gear retracted during this period, and the left propeller struck the runway. The pilot added full power and rotated, at which time, the right propeller contacted the runway. With the engine running rough, the airplane touched down again, slid off the runway, and contacted a parked airplane. The pilot reported he did not touch the landing gear selector during the landing, nor did he hear a warning horn. Postaccident inspection of the landing gear system revealed that it, along with the gear warning system, functioned normally.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the inadvertant landing gear retraction, which occurred due to undetermined reason(s).

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/25/1997
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1309
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City GARDNER
Event State KANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 66030
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport GARDNER MUNICIPAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID K34
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 1042
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1253 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 60
Weather Observation Facility ID IXD
Elevation of weather observation facility 1087
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 4
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
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) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 15
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1091
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Nov 25 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 433
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:40PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3914A
NTSB Number CHI98LA051
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model E55
Aircraft Series Identifier E55
Aircraft Serial Number TE-789
Certified Max Gross Weight 5300
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 4
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 7 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 71
Airframe Hours 3937
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name AEROSPACE SYS & TECHNOLOGIES
Aircraft Owner Street Address 110 RIVERFRONT RD.
Aircraft Owner City LAWRENCE
Aircraft Owner State KS
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 66044
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
Owner has at least one certificate None
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 --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code LWC
Departure City LAWRENCE
Departure State KS
Departure Country
Departure Time 1255
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code K34
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 26
Runway Length 2960
Runway Width 36
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --