Short Bros SD3-60 accident near Honolulu, Hawaii, June 11, 2025
On June 11, 2025 at about 6:52 pm local time, a 1987 Short Bros SD3-60, registered N221LM, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Honolulu, Hawaii (Daniel K Inouye International airport). It was a positioning flight under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilots’ failure to extend the landing gear prior to landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilots’ failure to complete the Before Landing checklist.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 11, 2025 · about 6:52 pm local time
- Place
- Honolulu, Hawaii · Daniel K Inouye International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Short Bros SD3-60, built 1987 · all SD3-60s on the register
- Registration
- N221LM · registry record · serial SH3722
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The first officer, seated in the left seat for the purpose of nose wheel steering familiarization, and the captain, seated in the right seat, reported that the purpose of the flight was to reposition the airplane from Kona, Hawaii to Honolulu, Hawaii. The first officer reported that, while on approach to Honolulu, he called for flaps and gear down. Simultaneously, Honolulu tower requested them to, “slow down to slowest practical speed”. The pilots became distracted while initiating the reduction in airspeed and forgot to monitor the status of the landing gear. The captain reported that he did not verify that the gear was down. The airplane was equipped with tricycle landing gear featuring a fully retractable nose gear and partially retractable main gear. The pilots reported hearing the gear warning horn during the flare, at which time they glanced in and confirmed that the landing gear was retracted. The airplane landed gear up and the forward bottom section of the fuselage contacted the runway surface, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilots reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. A postaccident operational check of the airplane’s landing gear revealed no anomalies.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Landing gear not configured during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Not used/operated
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Forgotten action/omission › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Use of checklist › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Attention › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 34,000 hours in all; 4,471 in this make and model; 163 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 31,700 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: January 6, 2025
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,130 hours in all; 830 in this make and model; 103 in the last 90 days; 22 in the last 30 days; 221 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: October 21, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: unk
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 36,782.3 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, June 4, 2025; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 27,100 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Pratt & Whitney PT6A67R (turboprop); 16,273 hours total
- Engine 2: Pratt & Whitney PT6A67R (turboprop); 35,909 hours total
- Operator: Trans Executive Airlines Of Hawaii Inc
The flight
- Departed from: KOA Kona HI at 6:00 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 4R, 8,950 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 050° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.14 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 am from PHNL, 1 miles away
Weather report (METAR): PHNL 111853Z 05010KT 10SM FEW025 SCT050 27/20 A3014 RMK AO2 SLP206 T02720200 $
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
3 documents, released by the NTSB on September 5, 2025. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Pilot's Statement | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Photos | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Other NTSB records under N221LM the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC25LA050.