Cessna 177RG accident near Mountain Home, Arkansas, September 7, 2000
On September 7, 2000 at about 5:00 pm local time, a Cessna 177RG, registered N2035Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mountain Home, Arkansas (Baxter County Regional airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the landing gear to extend due to the empty hydraulic reservoir.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 7, 2000 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Mountain Home, Arkansas · Baxter County Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 177RG · all 177RGs on the register
- Registration
- N2035Q · registry record · serial 177RG0435
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The landing gear did not extend during an approach to land. The pilot attempted to manually pump the landing gear down, but that failed to extend the landing gear. The pilot then elected to land gear-up at an airport where emergency personnel were in place. Examination of the landing gear's hydraulic reservoir revealed that it was empty. The airplane underwent its last annual inspection 16 days and 8 flight hours 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
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 268 hours in all; 66 in this make and model; 8 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 199 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,120 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 22, 2000; 8 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CRX Corinth MS at 2:30 pm
- Destination: PLK Branson MO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 5, 5,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:53 pm from BPK
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.