Beech 58 accident near Wheeling, Illinois, July 2, 1999
On July 2, 1999 at about 4:03 pm local time, a Beech 58, registered N3240R, was substantially damaged in an accident near Wheeling, Illinois (Palwaukee Municipal airport). It was a personal flight 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
the landing gear extension not performed by the pilot. A contributing factor was the checklist not followed by the pilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 2, 1999 · about 4:03 pm local time
- Place
- Wheeling, Illinois · Palwaukee Municipal · 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
- N3240R · no longer on the register · serial TH1740
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Beech 58 landed wheels-up on runway 16 at Palwaukee Municipal Airport, Wheeling, Illinois. In a written statement, the pilot reported, '...Palwaukee gave me a straight in approach for runway 16 and to notify the tower 2 miles out. I flew to the left to line up with 16 and began a slow decent to traffic pattern altitude. About 3-1/2 miles out the tower cleared me to land. I began my pre landing checklist however I became distracted by what I thought was the collision avoidance equipment but in reality was my gear warning horn. There were a couple of aircraft showing up about a mile and a half away and I was looking for them and never completed the checklist and my normal prelanding GUMPS check. The aircraft landed gear up in the center of the runway and slid for a short distance. It stopped half off the left side of runway 16 however no lights were hit.'
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: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 761 hours in all; 382 in this make and model; 29 in the last 90 days; 9 in the last 30 days; 575 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 354 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 14, 1999; 26 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,500 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO550C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 40D Three Lakes WI at 2:45 pm
- Destination: PWK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 16, 5,001 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 6,500 ft; scat at 3,800 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from PWK
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.