Beech 36 accident near Batavia, New York, June 1, 2020
On June 1, 2020 at about 4:30 pm local time, a 1989 Beech 36, registered N15DN, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Batavia, New York (Genesee County airport). It was a positioning 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 pilot's failure to extend the landing gear during a precautionary landing after an electrical failure.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 1, 2020 · about 4:30 pm local time
- Place
- Batavia, New York · Genesee County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 36 A36, built 1989 · all 36s on the register
- Registration
- N15DN · registry record · serial E-2472
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, after a normal start and runup, he departed the airport and climbed to the cruise altitude. After reaching that altitude, he noted a flashing message indicator on the GPS that stated there was an electrical system issue. The pilot informed air traffic control that he would return to the departure airport to repair the issue, and about 7 miles from the airport, the GPS and primary flight display began to flash. The pilot pulled the circuit breakers to the flashing displays and set up for a straight in approach to the runway. He realized the airplane needed to lose altitude and attempted to extend the flaps, however, the flaps did not extend. He reset the circuit breakers, but the flaps still did not extend. He continued the approach, mistakenly forgot to extend the landing gear, and landed on the runway with the landing gear retracted. During the accident sequence, the fuselage was substantially damaged. After the accident, the pilot realized that he was interrupted during his starting checklist and concluded that he did not turn on the alternators (alternator and standby alternator) during the start procedures. Therefore, the airplane avionics were running on battery power the entire flight, which resulted in a loss of electrical power. He reported no other mechanical malfunctions of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation prior to the accident.
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
- Electrical system malf/failure during enroute (cruise)
- Landing gear not configured during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Forgotten action/omission › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › (general) › Not used/operated
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 952 hours in all; 89 in this make and model; 54 in the last 90 days; 23 in the last 30 days; 888 as pilot in command; 29 on instruments
- Last flight review: February 15, 2020
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,182.5 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 7, 2019
- Maximum gross weight: 3,651 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-550 (piston); 1,212 hours total
- Operator: Snowflake Aircraft Llc
The flight
- Departed from: GVQ Batavia NY at 4:15 pm
- Destination: GVQ Batavia NY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 28, 5,499 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.21 inHg
- Observation at 3:56 pm from GVQ
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.
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 ERA20CA203.