Beech E-55 accident near Wichita Falls, Texas, August 24, 2016
On August 24, 2016 at about 11:30 pm local time, a 1973 Beech E-55, registered N855T, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Wichita Falls, Texas (Sheppard Air Force Base/Wichit airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the landing gear assembly snap ring, which prevented the pilot from being able to extend the landing gear and resulted in a gear-up landing. Also causal was the lack of the assembly's overhaul in accordance with the airplane maintenance manual.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 24, 2016 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Wichita Falls, Texas · Sheppard Air Force Base/Wichit · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech E-55, built 1973 · all E-55s on the register
- Registration
- N855T · no longer on the register · serial TE-928
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor stated that, after the landing gear handle was placed in the gear-down position, he and the student pilot noticed electrical smoke and fumes but no fire. Although they restored electrical power, they were unable to fully extend the landing gear, which resulted in a gear-up landing. Postaccident examination of the main landing gear retraction actuator assembly revealed a broken snap ring within the manual crank extension housing, which allowed the actuator worm gear to reposition itself beyond the actuator worm sector travel limits. A review of the airplane's maintenance records found no record showing that the landing gear actuator assembly had been repaired/overhauled in accordance with the airplane maintenance manual. According to the maintenance manual, the actuator assembly is to be overhauled or replaced every 2,000 hours for gray- or green-colored assemblies. The assembly that was examined was green. The airplane had a total time of 6,184.5 hours. Given the condition of the landing gear actuator assembly, the operator should have been overhauled or replaced the actuator assembly in accordance with the manual.
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 approach
- Landing gear not configured during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Failure
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Not serviced/maintained
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Maintenance › Scheduled/routine maintenance › Other/unknown
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft handling/service › Maintenance/inspections › Scheduled maint checks › Not serviced/maintained
Flight instructor
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,940.7 hours in all; 83.5 in this make and model; 89.5 in the last 90 days; 29.7 in the last 30 days; 3,967.1 as pilot in command; 1,293.6 on instruments
- Last flight review: December 30, 2015
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land
- Flight time: 2,990 hours in all; 4 in this make and model; 1,118 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,184.5 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 23, 2016
- Maximum gross weight: 5,300 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine 1: Continental IO-520-CB (piston); 2,543 hours total
- Engine 2: Continental IO-520-CB (piston); 2,543 hours total
- Operator: Cobra Kai INC
The flight
- Departed from: CWC Wichita Falls TX at 9:09 pm
- Destination: SPS Wichita Falls TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 17, 7,021 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 6,500 ft
- Temperature: 95°F (35°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 10:52 pm from SPS
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 2 |
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.
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 CEN16LA336.