Beech 58 accident near Fort Pierce, Florida, November 7, 2004
On November 7, 2004 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Beech 58, registered N4545M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fort Pierce, Florida (Aero Acres Airport). It was a personal 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 failure of the pilot to follow the checklist and extend the landing gear during landing resulting in a gear-up landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 7, 2004 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Fort Pierce, Florida · Aero Acres Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 58 · all 58s on the register
- Registration
- N4545M · registry record · serial TH-914
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that on final approach to runway 9 with full flaps extended, during the flare he noticed the airplane was "low' and looked and noted he did not have 3 green lights indicating all gears were down and locked. He reached for the landing gear selector handle but at that time the airplane contacted the ground; he did not move the landing gear selector handle to the down position.
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: 1,890 hours in all; 840 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Teledyne Continental IO-550-C3F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KOBE Okeechobee FL at 5:45 pm
- Destination: FD88 Fort Pierce FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 9
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.