Beech 58 incident near Memphis, Tennessee, March 14, 2000
On March 14, 2000 at about 10:20 pm local time, a Beech 58, registered N225TA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Memphis, Tennessee (Memphis International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
failure of the right main landing gear's dynamic brake relay, that resulted in the motor driving the gearbox past prescribed limits, resulting in a bent connecting rod, and failure of the gear to extend.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 14, 2000 · about 10:20 pm local time
- Place
- Memphis, Tennessee · Memphis International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 58 · all 58s on the register
- Registration
- N225TA · registry record · serial TH-64
- Damage
- Minor 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 stated that during the landing rollout the right main landing gear collapsed, and the airplane exited the runway. Company maintenance personnel examined the right gear and found that a dynamic brake relay, which provides a momentary surge of reverse current to the right main landing gear for positive stopping was defective. This defective part allowed the motor to drive the gearbox past prescribed limits, inducing a bend into the right main landing gear connecting rod. Once gear down was selected, the rod was placed under a compression load, which caused it to bend even further, and not extend the gear.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,960 hours in all; 588 in this make and model; 345 in the last 90 days; 107 in the last 30 days; 2,608 as pilot in command; 924 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,304 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, March 14, 2000; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-CB7 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FSM Ft. Smith AR at 9:00 pm
- Destination: MEM
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27, 8,936 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 25,000 ft; scat at 11,000 ft
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from MEM
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.