Beech 60 accident near Chino, California, March 11, 2024
On March 11, 2024 at about 6:30 am local time, a Beech 60, registered N167U, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Chino, California (Chino airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Corrosion on a landing gear retract rod assembly which precluded an extension of the gear and resulted 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
- March 11, 2024 · about 6:30 am local time
- Place
- Chino, California · Chino · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech 60 · all 60s on the register
- Registration
- N167U · registry record · serial P-99
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After an uneventful flight, the pilot attempted to extend the landing gear in preparation for landing and observed that the left main landing gear green light annunciator was extinguished. He cycled the landing gear, changed the annunciator light bulb, and attempted to manually extend the landing gear; however, the pilot was unable to extend the landing gear or prompt a green light on the instrument panel to indicate the left main landing gear was down. The pilot then landed with the left main gear retracted, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing. Postaccident examination of the landing gear system revealed that the gear motor functioned normally. Both manual and automatic extension of the left main landing gear failed due to a separation in the retraction rod assembly. The main gear retract system includes a pressure boot that is attached to a bushing on the retract rod assembly that extends and retracts the landing gear. A metallurgical examination of the landing gear retract rod found that the rod fractured due to buckling from compression overload during the landing gear extension. The primer on the rod was worn where the bushing for the pressure boot slides along the rod during extension and retraction operations, which exposed the underlying steel surfaces to oxidation. The bushing likely seized on the corroded (oxidized) rod near the retracted position due to increased friction from the accumulation of corrosion products. The rod then buckled during normal extension operations due to constraint from the pressure boot and the seized bushing. With the rod segment outboard of the bushing held in place near the retracted position by the pressure boot and seized bushing, the left main landing gear would not have been able to extend when the main landing gear actuator rotated to extend the gear. The maintenance logbooks indicated that the retract rod would have been inspected during the annual inspection seven months before the accident; however, it is unknown if a visual inspection would have found the wear on the retract rod.
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 landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Fatigue/wear/corrosion
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Main landing gear › Failure
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 8,281 hours in all; 150 in this make and model; 15.4 in the last 90 days; 5.8 in the last 30 days; 6,976 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 16, 2023
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,855.3 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 18, 2023
- Maximum gross weight: 6,725 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Lycoming TIO-541 (piston); 823 hours total
- Engine 2: Lycoming TIO-541 (piston); 823 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GYR Goodyear AZ at 4:10 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 08R/, 7,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 260° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.06 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from KCNO, 1 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KCNO 110553Z AUTO 26007KT 10SM CLR 11/08 A3006 RMK AO2 SLP177 T01060078 10200 20106 50011 $=
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
9 documents, released by the NTSB on February 26, 2025. 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, 8 pages | View Download |
| 2 | FAA Email Correspondence, Exam Observations | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Record of Conversation, Mechanic Examination Report | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Maintenance Logbook Excerpt | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 5 | Excerpt from Ipc of Landing Gear Retract Mechanism | PDF, 7 pages | View Download |
| 6 | Excerpt from Maintenance Manual | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
| 7 | Materials Laboratory Factual Report 24-037 | PDF, 5 pages | View Download |
| 8 | Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 9 | Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation | 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.