Landing-Gear Mishaps: The Beech Record
The accident record is unambiguous. The fixes are well within reach of every pilot, owner, and mechanic in the fleet.
Why this fleet, and why now.
Gear-up and gear-collapse mishaps represent over 40% of the total Bonanza, Debonair, Baron, and Travel Air accident record. They drive most insurance costs and underwriting decisions and are the single biggest threat to the longevity of the ABS fleet.
The pattern is consistent across decades of accident reviews: distraction in the pattern, breaks from the normal flow, abnormal procedures handled without rechecking the gear, and — on the maintenance side — slow degradation between annuals that the owner never spotted.
The three failure modes
- The pilot forgets. Distraction, abnormal procedures, ATC re-sequencing, an unexpected go-around, a passenger question on short final.
- The system fails. Worn components, rigging out of spec, electrical or hydraulic faults that develop slowly and aren’t caught in routine inspection.
- The verification fails. The pilot believes the gear is down because the lever is down — without confirming three green, the squat-switch behavior, or the airframe cues.
What the campaign asks of you
- Build the verbal callout into every approach.
- Treat any abnormal as a trigger to re-verify gear before the threshold.
- Inspect your gear system between annuals. Don’t outsource your responsibility.
- Consider an aftermarket gear-warning system as a backstop, not a substitute.
- Train. Then train again.
Pick your role. Start the work.
Pilot Training Library
Distraction management, abnormal procedure discipline, callouts that catch the miss.
Open →Mechanic Training Library
Inspection technique, rigging, retraction test discipline, service bulletin awareness.
Open →Take the Pledge
Add your name and N-number to the public list. Be counted among the pilots who chose discipline over luck.
Pledge now →