Beech BE-58 accident near Indianapolis, Indiana, January 24, 1985
On January 24, 1985 at about 7:00 am local time, a Beech BE-58, registered N8555R, was substantially damaged in an accident near Indianapolis, Indiana (Indianapolis Int'L 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 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
- January 24, 1985 · about 7:00 am local time
- Place
- Indianapolis, Indiana · Indianapolis Int'L · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech BE-58
- Registration
- N8555R · no longer on the register · serial TH-527
- 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
PLT STATED THE LANDING GEAR WAS LOWERED ON FINAL APCH AT AN AIRSPEED OF 148 KTS AND A GEAR DOWN & LOCKED INDICATION WAS RECEIVED. PLT CONTINUED TO STATE THE ACFT SETTLED CLOSER TO THE RWY THEN USUAL DURING THE LANDING FLARE AND WHEN THE ACFT WAS NEARING A COMPLETE STOP, A GEAR UNSAFE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE ACFT CONTACTED THE RWY WITH THE LANDING GEAR IN THE RETRACTED POSITION. (GEAR DOORS WERE NOT DAMAGED.) POST ACCIDENT EXAMINATION FAILED TO DISCLOSE ANY DISCREPANCIES IN THE LANDING GEAR SYSTEM AND THE GEAR OPERATED NORMALLY DURING EXTENSION/RETRACTION TESTS.
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: 3,198 hours in all; 583 in this make and model; 399 in the last 90 days; 2,824 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,630 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection; 1,507 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,400 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MDW Chicago IL at 6:00 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22, 10,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 230° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 11,000 ft; scat at 3,700 ft
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 18°F (-8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:09 am from IND
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.
Other NTSB records under N8555R the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.