Beech A36 accident near Washington, Missouri, August 7, 2012
On August 7, 2012 at about 3:40 pm local time, a Beech A36, registered N41HC, was substantially damaged in an accident during takeoff near Washington, Missouri (Washington Regional airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot raised the landing gear handle instead of the flap handle during a touch-and-go landing, resulting in the collapse of the nose landing gear while accelerating to takeoff.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 7, 2012 · about 3:40 pm local time
- Place
- Washington, Missouri · Washington Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech A36 · all A36s on the register
- Registration
- N41HC · registry record · serial E-592
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After an uneventful local flight, the pilot was intending to do a few touch-and-go landings at his destination airport. After touchdown and accelerating to takeoff, the pilot mistakenly raised the landing gear handle instead of the flap handle. The nose gear collapsed and the airplane came to a stop on the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage at the nose gear attachment point. The pilot exited the airplane uninjured.
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 takeoff defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Incorrect action performance › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,015 hours in all; 1,023 in this make and model; 65 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 1,786 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: September 8, 2010
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,524 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 2, 2011
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Cont Motor IO 520 SERIES (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 1H0 Creve Coeur MO at 3:15 pm
- Destination: FYG Washington MO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 15, 5,001 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast; clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 30.01 inHg
- Observation at 2:54 pm from SUS, 17 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.