Beech E 55 accident near New Richmond, Wisconsin, April 22, 1990
On April 22, 1990 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Beech E 55, registered N17577, was substantially damaged in an accident near New Richmond, Wisconsin (New Richmond Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
PILOT'S IMPROPER USE OF THE LANDING GEAR MECHANISM DURING THE LANDING ROLL, WHICH RESULTED IN THE PARTIAL COLLAPSE OF THE LANDING GEAR.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 22, 1990 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- New Richmond, Wisconsin · New Richmond Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech E 55 · all E 55s on the register
- Registration
- N17577 · registry record · serial TE-1091
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT STATED THAT HE HAD EXTENDED THE LANDING GEAR AND FLAPS DURING THE DOWNWIND LEG OF THE TRAFFIC PATTERN; HIS PASSENGER AND A GROUND WITNESS CONFIRMED THAT THE GEAR WAS EXTENDED DURING THE FINAL APPROACH AND TOUCHDOWN PHASE OF FLIGHT. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE VISUALLY VERIFIED THAT THE GEAR WAS DOWN AND LOCKED PRIOR TO TOUCHDOWN, BUT SHORTLY AFTER TOUCHDOWN THE LEFT WING STARTED LOWERING AS THE LEFT MAIN AND NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED. POST-ACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE LANDING GEAR SYSTEM REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF PRE-IMPACT MALFUNCTION; THE FAA INSPECTOR REPORTED THAT THE 'ENTIRE LANDING GEAR SYSTEM WAS IN A TRANSIT MODE....DURING THE LANDING ROLL....' THE PILOT STATED THAT HE MIGHT HAVE INADVERTENTLY RETRACTED THE LANDING GEAR, BUT HE DID NOT REMEMBER.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,746 hours in all; 173 in this make and model; 182 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days; 2,557 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,837 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 8, 1989; 28 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,300 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 13, 3,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:50 pm from MSP, 33 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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 CHI90LA116.