Beech 65-A90 accident near Kalamazoo, Michigan, March 24, 1982
On March 24, 1982, a Beech 65-A90, registered N6069C, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kalamazoo, Michigan (Kalamazoo airport). It was an executive or corporate 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 24, 1982
- Place
- Kalamazoo, Michigan · Kalamazoo
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 65-A90 · all 65-A90s on the register
- Registration
- N6069C · no longer on the register · serial LJ291
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Executive or corporate flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT HEARD A GRINDING NOISE WHEN HE ATTEMPTED TO LOWER THE LANDING GEAR. THE GEAR WOULD NOT EXTEND WITH EITHER THE NORMAL OR EMERGENCY SYSTEMS. THE ACFT LANDED WITH THE GEAR IN THE PARTIALLY EXTENDED POSITION. SUBSEQUENT TO EXAMINATIONOF THE NOSE LANDING GEAR ACTUATOR BY THE MANUFACTURER, THE GEAR BOX FOR THE NOSE GEAR ACTUATOR WAS DISASSEMBLED. IT WAS STILL PACKED WITH GREASE. WHILE REMOVING THE MASS OF GREASE FROM AROUND THE DRIVE PINION GEAR, A SMALL NUT, FOREIGN TO THE INSIDE OF THE GEAR BOX, WAS FOUND BURIED, AND INVISIBLE, IN THE GREASE THAT WAS PACKED AROUND THE BEVELED GEARS. EXAMINATION OF THE NUT SHOWED INDENTATIONS OF TWO OPPOSITE SIDES. PLACEMENT OF THE NUT ON EITHER SIDE OF THE POINT WHEREBOTH BEVELED GEARS MET WOULD JAM THE ROTATION IN EITHER THE RETRACT OF EXTEND CYCLE. ON 12/23/77 THE GEAR ACTUATORS WEREREPLACED WITH REBUILT PARTS.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,986 hours in all; 1,916 in this make and model; 88 in the last 90 days; 11,711 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,881 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 281 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,800 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P & W PT6A-20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Dowling Bag CO.
The flight
- Departed from: Hamilton OH at 4:30 pm
- Destination: South Bend IN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 23, 3,925 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 190° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat at 4,500 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:00 pm from AZO
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
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.