Beech S35 accident near Olympia, Washington, October 12, 2025
On October 12, 2025 at about 9:35 pm local time, a 1964 Beech S35, registered N35S, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Olympia, Washington (Olympia Regional 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s inadvertent retraction of the landing gear after landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 12, 2025 · about 9:35 pm local time
- Place
- Olympia, Washington · Olympia Regional Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech S35 NO SERIES, built 1964 · all S35s on the register
- Registration
- N35S · registry record · serial D-7481
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that during a landing roll of a touch-and-go landing, he attempted to reconfigure the airplane for takeoff. He inadvertently raised the landing gear handle instead of the flap handle, and the landing gear began to retract. The airplane struck the ground and slid to a stop on the runway, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane’s left wing. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
- Landing gear not configured during landing defining event
- Landing gear collapse during taxi
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Use of equip/system › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Incorrect action performance › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 405 hours in all; 398 in this make and model; 0 in the last 90 days; 0 in the last 30 days; 405 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 26, 2023
- Medical certificate: BasicMed
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,796.6 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 6, 2025; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-540-BA3B (piston); 2,133 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 5,500 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 9,500 ft
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.78 inHg
- Observation at 2:54 pm from OLM
Weather report (METAR): METAR KOLM 122154Z 20009KT 10SM BKN095 10/08 A2978 RMK AO2 RAE25 SLP085 P0001 T01000083
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on December 4, 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, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photos | PDF, 4 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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 WPR26LA016.