Beech B-99 accident near Billings, Montana, May 19, 2007
On May 19, 2007 at about 10:00 am local time, a Beech B-99, registered N950AA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Billings, Montana (Billings Logan Intern Arpt airport). It was flown 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The total failure of the nose landing gear actuator and the subsequent nose gear collapse during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 19, 2007 · about 10:00 am local time
- Place
- Billings, Montana · Billings Logan Intern Arpt · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech B-99 · all B-99s on the register
- Registration
- N950AA · registry record · serial U-159
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that about 40 nautical miles into the flight, he heard a "clunk" and the red unsafe light in the gear handle came on. He verified that all systems were functioning normally, and he cycled the landing gear up and down to see if that would solve the problem. The unsafe light remained illuminated. The pilot returned to the departure airport and circled for several hours to burn his fuel load down. He said that at one point he flew low over the runway so the company mechanic, with the aid of a light from an airport vehicle, could visually check the nose gear position. It was hanging out of the wheel well at approximately a 45-degree angle. Upon landing, the airplane settled to its nose during landing rollout. Examination of the airplane revealed that the nose gear actuator mount bracket area was bent and wrinkled. The nose gear actuator shaft had fractured just above the clevis bolt, which attaches to the drag brace. The failed actuator had been installed on July 26, 2006. The Beech B-99 maintenance manual states that the hydraulic actuator needs to be overhauled or replaced every 10,000 hours; maintenance records indicate that this one had 231.4 hours on it at the time of the accident. Metallurgist examined the failed actuator and concluded that all of the fractures were overstress, and no preexisting fatigue signatures were evident. The airframe had accumulated 34,613.2 hours of flying time, at the time of the accident.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,360 hours in all; 2,490 in this make and model; 240 in the last 90 days; 79 in the last 30 days; 11,053 as pilot in command; 485 on instruments
- Last flight review: March 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 34,613 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, April 1, 2007; 130 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,900 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Pratt & Whitney PT-6A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Pratt & Whitney PT-6A (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BIL Billings MT at 7:00 am
- Destination: GPI Kalispell MT
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 10L, 10,518 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 020° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.98 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 am from BIL
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.
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 documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 SEA07LA133.