San Antonio International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

San Antonio, Texas 78216
Monday, August 16, 1999 17:33 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane landed wheels up after the instructor pilot failed to lower the landing gear. The instructor told the student to execute 'a no flap landing due to a simulated hydraulic pump failure.' The student established the airplane on the approach and called for the 'Emergency Gear Extension Checklist.' The instructor delayed extending the gear in accordance with the operator's flight standards manual, which stated that the landing gear should not be extended until the landing was assured. Later in the approach, when the gear warning horn stopped sounding, due to the student's movement of the power levers forward, the instructor removed his hand from the gear handle without extending the gear. The instructor stated that 'because [the student] had already called for the [Emergency Gear Extension] checklist once before, in a split second thought process, [he] mistakenly thought it had been completed.' Following the accident, the landing gear system was tested and found to operate normally. Review of the maintenance records revealed no uncorrected discrepancies. At the time of the accident, the instructor pilot was completing a 9-hour work day, and did not have a lunch break.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The instructor pilot's failure to complete the Emergency Gear Extension Checklist, resulting in the inadvertent wheels-up landing. A factor was the instructor pilot's fatigued condition.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/16/1999
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1733
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City SAN ANTONIO
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 78216
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport SAN ANTONIO INTERNATIONAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID SAT
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 809
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
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) 36
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 100
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1189
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 16 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1826
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jan 10 2001 9:59AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2671V
NTSB Number FTW99FA223
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Swearingen
Aircraft Model SA-227-AC
Aircraft Series Identifier SA-227-AC
Aircraft Serial Number AC-437
Certified Max Gross Weight 14500
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 2
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Aug 4 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 24
Airframe Hours 19317
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name GENERAL INTERQUIP INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 400 NORTH MOUNTAIN AVE.
Aircraft Owner City UPLAND
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 91786
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name MERLIN EXPRESS
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 9623 W. TERMINAL DRIVE
Operator City SAN ANTONIO
Operator State TX
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 78216
Operator Code MEJA
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 --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code SAT
Departure City SAN ANTONIO
Departure State TX
Departure Country
Departure Time 1430
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 10 2001 12:26PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 12R
Runway Length 8502
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --