Beech 55 accident near Nashville, Tennessee, August 24, 2020
On August 24, 2020 at about 3:16 pm local time, a 1963 Beech 55, registered N8629M, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Nashville, Tennessee (Nashville Intl airport). It was an instructional 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadvertent feathering of the propellers during the landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing. A factor in the accident was the instructor's failure to fully monitor the pilot's manipulation of the levers in the airplane's non-standard throttle quadrant.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 24, 2020 · about 3:16 pm local time
- Place
- Nashville, Tennessee · Nashville Intl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 55 95A55, built 1963
- Registration
- N8629M · no longer on the register · serial TC-498
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The commercial pilot was on her second flight of multi-engine flight instruction as she completed an approach and flared the airplane for landing. The instructor said his attention was "outside" as he monitored the airplane's height, drift, runway alignment, and guarded the throttles. The airplane suddenly landed hard, bounced back into the air, and did not respond as expected to the instructor's remedial actions. The engines responded to an increase in throttle for a go-around, but there was no corresponding increase in thrust. The airplane drifted to its left, and the instructor chose to close the throttles, and perform a controlled landing. The airplane departed the runway surface and came to rest in the grass infield with substantial damage to the fuselage forward of the cockpit. According to the instructor, there were no deficiencies in the performance and handling of the airplane. The student pilot had experienced a negative habit transfer from her experience in the airplane she was accustomed to flying as the configuration of its throttle quadrant differed from the accident airplane and she had inadvertently reduced (feathered) the propellers rather than reducing the throttles while landing.
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
- Abnormal runway contact during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
- Runway excursion during landing (flare/touchdown)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Identification/recognition › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring other person › Instructor/check pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft propeller/rotor › Propeller system › Propeller feather/reversing › Incorrect use/operation
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 307.1 hours in all; 3 in this make and model; 34 in the last 90 days; 28 in the last 30 days; 307.1 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Flight instructor
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 22,537 hours in all; 29.2 in this make and model; 126 in the last 90 days; 61.7 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: December 23, 2019
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,404.3 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 2, 2019; 51 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,880 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Continental IO-470-L (piston); 455 hours total
- Engine 2: Continental IO-470-L (piston); 663 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: XNX Gallatin TN at 3:03 pm
- Destination: BNA Nashville TN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 20C, 8,001 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.15 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from BNA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
3 documents, released by the NTSB on April 19, 2021. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 13 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Pilot Interview Summaries | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Photos | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.