Beech 58 accident near Decatur, Illinois, April 19, 2000
On April 19, 2000, a Beech 58, registered N9429Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Decatur, Illinois (Decatur Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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 pilot to extend the landing gear which resulted in the gear-up landing. A factor to the accident was the pilot's failure to complete the landing checklist.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 19, 2000
- Place
- Decatur, Illinois · Decatur Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 58 · all 58s on the register
- Registration
- N9429Q · registry record · serial TH200
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The aircraft was damaged during a gear-up landing. According to the pilot's written statement, '...reached for the gear handle but for some reason I must not have selected gear down.' The pilot continued, 'Assumed the gear was down and continued with the landing. Flared to land with no gear and it settled on the belly...' The pilot stated that the accident could have been prevented by, 'use of checklist.' Post accident examination of the airplane 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
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,500 hours in all; 300 in this make and model; 300 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 2,400 as pilot in command; 1,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,359 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 28, 2000; 91 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,400 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PIA Peoria IL
- Destination: DEC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 18, 5,300 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 120° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.