Beech 76 accident near Vacaville, California, April 27, 2018
On April 27, 2018 at about 6:00 pm local time, a 1980 Beech 76, registered N54V, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Vacaville, California (Nut Tree 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 under instruction’s failure to extend the landing gear and the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision and failure to ensure that the landing gear was extended.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 27, 2018 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Vacaville, California · Nut Tree · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 76 NO SERIES, built 1980 · all 76s on the register
- Registration
- N54V · registry record · serial ME-313
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor was giving instruction in the multiengine, retractable-landing gear-equipped airplane. On the downwind leg in the pattern, he asked the pilot under instruction to perform a simulated single-engine emergency landing with the left engine shutdown. It was the pilot under instruction's first training flight in a multiengine airplane, and he asked a series of questions of the flight instructor during the procedure. The instructor reported that they both became distracted and forgot to extend the landing gear. The airplane landed with the landing gear retracted and came to rest on the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wingspar and longerons. The flight instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
- Miscellaneous/other during landing (flare/touchdown)
- Landing gear not configured during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Forgotten action/omission › Student/instructed pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Not used/operated
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring other person › Instructor/check pilot
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 912 hours in all; 54 in this make and model; 290 in the last 90 days; 111 in the last 30 days; 837 as pilot in command; 636 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 26, 2017
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,531 hours in all; 1 in this make and model; 47 in the last 90 days; 21 in the last 30 days; 1,451 as pilot in command; 950 on instruments
- Last flight review: August 8, 2016
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,377.5 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 2, 2018
- Maximum gross weight: 3,900 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Lycoming O-360-A1G6D (piston); 7,924 hours total
- Engine 2: Lycoming LO-360-A1G6D (piston); 6,156 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: VCB Vacaville CA at 5:30 pm
- Destination: VCB Vacaville CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 20, 4,700 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,700 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.10 inHg
- Observation at 5:56 pm from KSUU, 7 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on September 17, 2018. 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, 11 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photograph | PDF, 1 page | 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.