Cessna 401 N3239Q

Summary

On 22 May 2025 at about 17:41 local time, a Cessna 401 registered N3239Q was involved in an accident near Arlington, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 May 2025 at 17:41

Classification

Accident

Location

Arlington, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Arlington Muni (GKY)

Coordinates

32.6639, -97.0943

Aircraft

Cessna 401

Registration

N3239Q

Category

Airplane

Year built

1967

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN25LA185

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the left landing gear system and subsequent intentional gear up landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, the airplane had undergone extensive maintenance and an annual inspection before being flown for the first time in about 25 years. During the third traffic pattern, the “left landing gear broke and necessitated a gear up landing.” The pilot landed the airplane with the landing gear retracted which resulted in substantial damage to the lower fuselage. According to the pilot, the left landing gear strut over extended and jammed itself into the wheel well. Additionally, he reported that the left main landing gear bell crank was fractured which appeared to have possibly been damaged during a previous gear-up landing in 1998.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.