Beech 58 accident near Sioux Falls, South Dakota, April 24, 2012
On April 24, 2012 at about 10:04 pm local time, a Beech 58, registered N8121R, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Joe Foss Field Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 failure of the normal and emergency landing gear system to fully retract or extend the landing gear for reasons that could not be determined during postaccident examinations, which resulted in a partial gear-up landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 24, 2012 · about 10:04 pm local time
- Place
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota · Joe Foss Field Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 58 NO SERIES · all 58s on the register
- Registration
- N8121R · no longer on the register · serial TH-690
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that he was unable to fully retract the landing gear after takeoff and the landing gear position indicator transition light remained illuminated. He tried to manually extend the landing gear, but the crank arm was difficult to turn. Unable to fully extend or retract the landing gear, the pilot diverted to a nearby airport where he performed a landing with the gear partially extended, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane. During the postaccident recovery and examination of the airplane, the landing gear was cycled repeatedly using the airplane’s normal (electrical) landing gear system and operated normally. Although the manual landing gear extension handle was difficult to turn during postaccident testing, this would not explain why the gear would not retract. Postaccident examination of the landing gear system could not duplicate the condition that resulted in the partial gear-up landing.
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
- Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power) during initial climb
- Landing gear not configured during initial climb
- Landing gear not configured during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (flare/touchdown)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Failure
- cause Not determined › Not determined › (general) › (general) › Unknown/Not determined
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,500 hours in all; 600 in this make and model
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,093 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Y14 Tea SD
- Destination: RAP Rapid City SD
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 33, 8,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 29.60 inHg
- Observation at 8:56 pm from FSD
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.