Beech 99A accident near Bemidji, Minnesota, May 17, 1999
On May 17, 1999 at about 11:40 pm local time, a Beech 99A, registered N133BA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bemidji, Minnesota (Bemedji-Beltrami County airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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
Failure of the left main landing gear actuator for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 17, 1999 · about 11:40 pm local time
- Place
- Bemidji, Minnesota · Bemedji-Beltrami County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 99A · all 99As on the register
- Registration
- N133BA · registry record · serial U-142
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot said that after takeoff and raising the landing gear, the red warning light in the landing gear handle failed to go out. The pilot recycled the landing gear, but could not get the red light to go out. On return to the airport, the pilot lowered the landing gear handle down, but nothing happened. He recycled the handle two additional times with no results. The pilot overflew the airport and confirmed that the landing gear were still up. The pilot manually pumped the landing gear down. Only the nose gear and right main gear green indicator lights illuminated. The pilot overflew the airport again. He was told that the three gear were down. During the landing, the pilot touched down on the right main gear first, and then gently lowered the left main gear to the runway. The landing gear held. As the pilot applied reverse thrust, the left main gear suddenly collapsed. The airplane slid off of the left side of the runway and came to a stop in the grass. 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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 18,620 hours in all; 480 in this make and model; 80 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 17,555 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,017 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 13, 1999; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-27 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BJI at 10:40 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 31, 6,598 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 15 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from PKD, 37 miles away
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.