Beech 65-90 accident near Dallas, Texas, April 20, 1983
On April 20, 1983 at about 4:46 am local time, a Beech 65-90, registered N29AA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Dallas, Texas (Love airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 10 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 20, 1983 · about 4:46 am local time
- Place
- Dallas, Texas · Love · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 10 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 65-90 · all 65-90s on the register
- Registration
- N29AA · registry record · serial LF-110
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT SAID THAT THE APPROACH AND LANDING WERE NORMAL WITH THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR TOUCHING FIRST BECAUSE OF A SLIGHT X-WIND. JUST AFTER TOUCHDOWN, THE LEFT MAIN GEAR FAILED AND THE AIRCRAFT WENT OFF THE SIDE OF THE RUNWAY. EXAMINATION OF THE FAILED GEAR REVEALED THE UPPER HALF OF THE THE SCISSOR ASSEMBLY SEPARATED, ALLOWING THE OLEO PISTON AND ATTACHED WHEEL ASSY TO SEPARATE FROM THE REMAINDER OF THE GEAR. EXAMINATION OF THE BROKEN SCISSOR ASSY REVEALED A SMALL FATIGUE CRACK IN THE SEPARATED AREA BUT THE ULTIMATE FAILURE WAS THE RESULT OF A LARGE OVERLOAD CONDITION WHICH HAD BEEN APPLIED TO THE PART ON SOME PREVIOUS OCCASION.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,229 hours in all; 565 in this make and model; 122 in the last 90 days; 2,089 as pilot in command; 11 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,622 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, March 21, 1983
- Maximum gross weight: 8,800 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-6 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AUS Austin TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 31R, 7,751 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 060° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,200 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:50 am from DAL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 8 |
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.