Centennial Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Englewood, Colorado 80112
Tuesady, February 12, 2008 15:05 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that the airplane the battery was dead, and he used an external source to "charge/start the airplane." The taxi and initial takeoff were uneventful. During the landing gear retraction after takeoff, the airplane "lost total electrical power." The pilot elected to continue the flight and troubleshoot the electrical failure. With no electrical power, the pilot had no communications, and had to manually extend the landing gear. A second airplane flew near the accident airplane to help verify that the landing gear was extended. The landing gear appeared to be extended, and the pilot attempted to land the airplane. During the landing roll, the right main landing gear collapsed and the airplane went off the runway. The right wing impacted a runway sign, and the nose landing gear and left main landing gear collapsed. The airplane came to rest upright approximately 10 feet off the runway. An examination of the airplane showed that the aircraft battery was completely discharged. The owner of the airplane reported that the alternator would not be able to handle the electrical load during landing gear retraction without battery power.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper decision to fly the airplane with a discharged battery, which resulted in a total electrical failure during takeoff climb. Contributing factors were the pilot's inability to verify the landing gear position, and the impact with the runway sign.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/12/2008
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1505
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Englewood
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 80112
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 393412N
Event Location Longitude 1045057W
Event Location Airport Centennial Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID APA
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 5885
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID APA
Elevation of weather observation facility 5885
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 7000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 6
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 30
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.03
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency --
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23478
NTSB Notification Source FAA-Northwest Mountain Region
NTSB Notification Date Feb 12 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 30 2008 1:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Denver, Colorado

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N34KF
NTSB Number DEN08LA057
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model A45
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number G-120
Certified Max Gross Weight 2950
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jul 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 7847
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Robert E. Gold
Aircraft Owner Street Address 9197 N. Clydesdale Rd.
Aircraft Owner City Castle Rock
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 80108
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Goldwing Aviation, LLC
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 7395 S. Peoria St. Hangar 8
Operator City Englewood
Operator State CO
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 80112
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) Business
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code APA
Departure City Englewood
Departure State CO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1454
Departure Time Zone MST
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 Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 15 2008 5:33PM
User who most recently changed record BOWL
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 35R
Runway Length 10002
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --