Cessna 510 accident near Daytona Beach, Florida, February 20, 2020
On February 20, 2020 at about 5:45 pm local time, a 2007 Cessna 510, registered N163TC, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Daytona Beach, Florida (Daytona Beach Intl airport). It was a personal 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to lower the landing gear before landing. Contributing to the accident was the examiner’s failure to check that the landing gear was extended.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 20, 2020 · about 5:45 pm local time
- Place
- Daytona Beach, Florida · Daytona Beach Intl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 510 No Series, built 2007 · all 510s on the register
- Registration
- N163TC · registry record · serial 510-0039
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was receiving a checkride from a designated pilot examiner for his single-pilot type rating in a turbine airplane. After a series of maneuvers, emergencies, and landings, the examiner asked the pilot to complete a no-flap landing. The pilot reported that he performed the Before Landing checklist with no flaps and believed that he had put the gear down. During touchdown, the pilot felt a "thump" and thought a tire had blown; however, he saw that the landing gear handle was in the "up" position, and he noted that the landing gear warning horn did not sound because he had performed a no-flaps landing. The examiner confirmed that the landing gear handle was in the "up" position. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector who examined the airplane reported that the landing gear handle was in the "up" position and that the fuselage had sustained substantial damage. The landing gear was lowered and locked into place without issue after the airplane was lifted from the runway.
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
What happened, in order
- Landing gear not configured during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Not used/operated
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Forgotten action/omission › Pilot
- factor Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Lack of action › Designated examiner
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,533 hours in all; 90 in this make and model; 53 in the last 90 days; 37 in the last 30 days; 2,460 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: December 12, 2019
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Other crew
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, 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: 7,500 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,380 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 1, 2020
- Maximum gross weight: 8,730 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Pratt Whitney 615R-A (turbofan); 2,300 hours total
- Engine 2: Pratt Whitney 615R-A (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: DAB Daytona Beach FL at 3:52 pm
- Destination: DAB Daytona Beach FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 07L, 10,500 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,100 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 pm from KDAB
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 2 |
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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 ERA20CA125.