ASN Aircraft accident Beechcraft 1900C N31704 San Antonio International Airport, TX (SAT)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Friday 8 May 2020
Time:20:50
Type:Silhouette image of generic B190 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Beechcraft 1900C
Operator:Ameriflight
Registration: N31704
MSN: UB-12
First flight: 1984
Total airframe hrs:41114
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65B
Crew:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Aircraft fate: Repaired
Location:San Antonio International Airport, TX (SAT) (   United States of America)
Phase: Landing (LDG)
Nature:Cargo
Departure airport:Corpus Christi International Airport, TX (CRP/KCRP), United States of America
Destination airport:San Antonio International Airport, TX (SAT/KSAT), United States of America
Flightnumber:1829
Narrative:
A Beechcraft 1900C, N31704, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident at San Antonio Airport, Texas, USA. The pilot sustained no injury.
The flight departed the Corpus Christi International Airport (CRP), Texas, at 20:04 with 631 lbs of cargo and a fuel load of 2,800 lbs. During the initial climb, the captain selected the landing gear handle to the UP position to retract the landing gear. The attempt was unsuccessful, and the captain attempted to cycle the landing gear handle once more yielding the same result. Following the second unsuccessful gear retraction, the captain elected to leave the landing gear handle in the DOWN position and continued to the San Antonio International Airport (SAT), Texas, where more services would be available if needed. The airplane climbed to 8,000 ft mean sea level and cruised below the maximum landing gear extended speed (VLE).
As the captain began to prepare for arrival at SAT, he retrieved the arrival automatic terminal information service (ATIS). The ATIS was reporting gusting winds out of the north, clear skies, and runway 4 as the active arrival runway. The captain began the descent toward the airport and air traffic control cleared the airplane for the visual approach to runway 4. The pilot entered a dogleg right base and completed the before landing checklist noting three green lights and no red lights, which indicated the landing gear was down, locked, and safe for landing.
The airplane touched down around the aiming point marker on runway 4. As the main landing gear touched down on the dry concrete, the left main landing gear collapsed, the red unsafe light in the landing gear handle illuminated, and was followed by an aural horn indicating the landing gear was now unlocked and unsafe for landing. Simultaneously, the airplane began to dip toward the left, causing the left wing tip to contact the runway. The impact on the airplane resulted in the airplane's momentum taking the airplane from the runway centerline off the runway and into the grass area several thousand ft from the runway 4 threshold. Once the airplane came to a complete stop, the captain shutdown all power to the airplane and exited through the main entry air stairs.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing.
A postaccident damage assessment by the operator revealed that the left main landing gear brace was fractured.

Probable Cause:

Probable Cause: The failure of the left main landing gear upper drag leg arm due to substandard mechanical properties, which resulted in a collapse of the landing gear upon landing.

Accident investigation:

Investigating agency: NTSB
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 11 months
Accident number: CEN20LA175
Download report: Summary report

Classification:
Landing gear collapse
Runway excursion (veer-off)

Photos

photo of Beechcraft-1900C-N31704
accident date: 08-05-2020
type: Beechcraft 1900C
registration: N31704
photo of Beechcraft-1900C-N31704
accident date: 08-05-2020
type: Beechcraft 1900C
registration: N31704
 

Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line is connecting ADS-B datapoints from FlightAware.
Distance from Corpus Christi International Airport, TX to San Antonio International Airport, TX as the crow flies is 216 km (135 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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