Beech 99 accident near Billings, Montana, January 19, 2017
On January 19, 2017 at about 6:48 pm local time, a 1970 Beech 99, registered N326CA, was substantially damaged in an accident during initial climb near Billings, Montana (Billings Logan Intl 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 fatigue failure of the left main landing gear (MLG) actuator piston rod, which prevented the hydraulic system from producing pressure to control the MLG’s position and led to the right MLG collapsing during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 19, 2017 · about 6:48 pm local time
- Place
- Billings, Montana · Billings Logan Intl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 99 A, built 1970 · all 99s on the register
- Registration
- N326CA · registry record · serial U-135
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The commercial pilot reported that, after departing for the cross-country, cargo flight, he retracted the landing gear and heard a "thud" sound. Subsequently, the main landing gear (MLG) "unsafe" light illuminated, and the left MLG light remained illuminated green, indicating that it was still extended despite the landing gear handle being in the retracted position. The pilot returned to the departure airport, and during touchdown, the right MLG collapsed, which resulted in substantial damage to the right aileron and right wing spar. During the postaccident examination of the landing gear, the left MLG actuator's piston rod was found fractured. Metallurgical examination of the piston rod revealed that the rod had failed in its threaded section due to fatigue cracking over about 60% of the cross-section. Contact wear was observed on the faying surface of the retaining nut and piston head and the shoulder of the piston rod. These signatures were consistent with the nut not being tight enough to mitigate sliding of the piston head relative to the piston rod and retaining nut. It could not be determined if the manufacturer required a specific torque to be applied to the nut during assembly. Based on the evidence, it is likely that inadequate torque on the nut reduced the preload on the threaded section of the piston rod and contributed to premature fatigue crack propagation in the rod and its eventual failure. The failure of the piston rod allowed hydraulic fluid to pass freely from the down-side to the up-side of the piston, which prevented the hydraulic system from producing pressure to control the MLG's 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
What happened, in order
- Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power) during initial climb defining event
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Landing gear actuator › Failure
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Landing gear actuator › Fatigue/wear/corrosion
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,419 hours in all; 270 in this make and model; 196 in the last 90 days; 57 in the last 30 days; 1,308 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: September 17, 2016
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 46,422 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 14, 2016; 96 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,900 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Pratt And Whitney PT6A-28 (turboprop); 19,528 hours total
- Engine 2: Pratt And Whitney PT6A-27 (turboprop); 10,345 hours total
- Operator: Alpine Aviation Inc
The flight
- Departed from: GDV Glendive MT at 4:45 pm
- Destination: SDY Sidney MT
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 28R, 10,518 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.48 inHg
- Observation at 6:53 pm from BIL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.
Other NTSB records under N326CA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 WPR17LA056.