N44562Beech D17S · 1944

On August 3, 2017, about 1130 mountain daylight time, a Beech D17S airplane, N44562, ground looped during landing at City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS), Colorado Springs, Colorado. The pilot and one passenger were not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan had been filed. The flight departed Gallup Municipal Airport (GUP), Gallup, New Mexico, about 0900.

The pilot stated during landing the right quartering tailwind was 10 to 13 mph. He made a normal landing with a lot of left rudder application to keep the airplane straight. After touchdown, with the tailwheel on the runway, the airplane drifted to the right and he applied left brake. The right landing gear collapsed and the airplane continued to the right edge of the runway where it came to rest upright. The pilot stated there were no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane and that "it got away from me, I guess."

The responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector reported that the airplane landed on runway 35L and ground looped during the landing roll. The right main landing gear collapsed (figure 1), the lower right wing struck the ground. A postaccident examination revealed no anomalies with the landing gear.

Figure 1 – Accident airplane on the edge of the runway.

The pilot reported that following a local area flight, he unintentionally landed the airplane with the gear retracted. According to the Federal Aviation Administration accident coordinator, the airplane sustained wing rib damage. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.