Beech 58 accident near Taos, New Mexico, March 13, 1998
On March 13, 1998 at about 2:40 am local time, a Beech 58, registered N9239Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Taos, New Mexico (Taos Municipal 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The total failure of the landing gear retraction/extension assembly for reasons undetermined.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 13, 1998 · about 2:40 am local time
- Place
- Taos, New Mexico · Taos Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 58 · all 58s on the register
- Registration
- N9239Q · registry record · serial TH139
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot attempted to lower the landing gear in preparation for a normal landing. When he lowered the landing gear switch, the gear lock indicators failed to indicate the landing gear in the down-and-locked position. Manual extension of the landing gear was also unsuccessful. After circling the airport for approximately 20-30 minutes, he executed an emergency gear-up landing. Postaccident examination of the aircraft revealed that the landing gear box had failed, causing the flaps attachment tracks to separate from the spar webbing, and the belly formers to be damaged.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 645 hours in all; 56 in this make and model; 61 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 553 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,005 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 30, 1998; 36 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO520C5B (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Ican Enterprises, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: AUS Austin TX at 9:30 pm
- Destination: SKX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 22, 5,798 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 100° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 41°F (5°C), dew point 16°F (-9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:36 am from SKX
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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 FTW98LA148.