Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

On September 5, 2002, at 1130 mountain daylight time, a Beech D95A, N2705T, piloted by a private pilot receiving dual instruction, was substantially damaged during landing at Jefferson County Airport (BJC), Broomfield, Colorado, when the landing gear was retracted just after touchdown. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan had been filed for the instructional flight being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. The dual student pilot and flight instructor received no injuries. The local flight originated at Broomfield, Colorado.

In his statement to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the flight instructor said that the dual student was working on his multiengine airplane rating. The flight instructor said that during the landing roll, the dual student went for the wrong switch; he retracted the landing gear instead of the flaps. The flight instructor said that he "was not able to react quick enough" to stop the action. When the gear retracted, the nose struck the ground, followed by the props. The airplane traveled several hundred feet further down the runway before coming to a stop slightly right of centerline.

An FAA inspector examined the airplane at BJC. The airplane showed damage to both engine nacelles, the nose bowl, the landing gear doors, and the propellers. The examination also showed that both inboard wing ribs were bent.

The flight instructor stated that he had "discussed several times on the ground and in flight the unconventional location of the throttle, prop, landing gear, and flap controls along with the importance of identifying and verifying the appropriate control prior to engaging it." the dual student pilot's inadvertent retraction of the landing gear. Contributing factors included the dual student's lack of familiarity with the airplane, and inadequate supervision by the flight instructor.