Cessna 401 accident near Lancaster, Texas, September 4, 1998
On September 4, 1998 at about 11:30 pm local time, a Cessna 401, registered N3239Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lancaster, Texas (Lancaster Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 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 retraction of the landing gear while intending to retract the flaps. A factor was the pilots lack of total experience in the type of aircraft.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 4, 1998 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Lancaster, Texas · Lancaster Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 401 · all 401s on the register
- Registration
- N3239Q · registry record · serial 0039
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was in the local landing pattern doing touch and go landings. After touchdown during the third landing, he added power for takeoff and intended to 'raise' the 'flap' lever. He inadvertently raised the landing gear lever. Subsequently, the right main landing gear collapsed and the aircraft skidded off the runway. The pilot had been flying a Beech Bonanza previously, and the landing gear lever on the Cessna 401 is located where the flap lever is on the Bonanza. He had a total of 697 hours of flight time, 676 of which were flown in the Bonanza, and a total of 16 hours in the Cessna 401. In the last 90 days prior to the accident he had a total of 2 hours of flight time, which were flown in the Bonanza.
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: 697 hours in all; 16 in this make and model; 2 in the last 90 days; 635 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 6,500 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-E (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LNC
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 13, 4,999 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 106°F (41°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from RBD, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N3239Q the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.