Colorado Aviation Accidents & Incidents

On February 12, 2008, approximately 1505 mountain standard time, a Beech A45 single-engine airplane, N34KF, sustained substantial damage when the right wing impacted a runway sign following the collapsed of the right main landing gear during landing roll at Centennial Airport, Englewood, Colorado. The commercial pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was registered to a private individual and operated by Goldwing Aviation, LLC, Englewood, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 demonstration flight. The local flight departed at 1454.

According to the pilot, prior to starting the airplane the battery was dead, and he used an external source to "charge/start the airplane." The pilot stated the taxi and initial takeoff were uneventful. During the landing gear retraction after takeoff, the airplane "lost total electrical power." The pilot elected to continue the flight and troubleshoot the electrical failure. Due to the loss of electrical power, the pilot had no communications and had to manually extend the landing gear. A second airplane flew near the accident airplane to try and verify whether the landing gear was extended. The landing gear appeared to be extended, and the pilot attempted to land the airplane. During the landing roll, the right main landing gear collapsed and the airplane departed the runway surface. The right wing impacted a runway sign, and the nose landing gear and left main landing gear collapsed. The airplane came to rest upright approximately 10 feet off the runway.

Examination of the airplane by the owner and a local mechanic revealed the right wing spar and wing ribs were bent.

According to a maintenence technician who examined the airplane, the aircraft battery was completely discharged. The owner of the airplane reported that the alternator would not be able to handle the electrical load during landing gear retraction without battery power. The pilot's improper decision to fly the airplane with a discharged battery, which resulted in a total electrical failure during takeoff climb. Contributing factors were the pilot's inability to verify the landing gear position, and the impact with the runway sign.