NTSB Factual Report

On April 26, 2005, at 1826 eastern daylight time, a Swearingen SA-26AT, N50KV, registered to Southland Leasing Company, and operated by the Airline Transport Pilot, collided with runway 25,and burst into flames during a landing at the Gwinnett County-Briscoe Airport, in Lawrenceville, Georgia. The flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91, and instrument flight rules. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed and an IFR flight plan was filed. The pilot and passenger received minor injuries and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight originated from Spartanburg, South Carolina, on April 26, 2005, at 1741.

According to the pilot, just before touchdown the airplane turned right, and the left wing lifted and the right main gear hit the ground. He said the right main gear collapsed and the airplane bounced back into the air. He further said the airplane hit the ground a second time at a right angle to the runway's center line, and the left main and nose gear broke off and the airplane came to a stop on a taxiway. He stated that he and his passenger egressed the airplane through the emergency exit window on the right side of the airplane and got about 200 to 300 feet away when the airplane caught fire and burned. Airport crash fire rescue arrived shortly and extinguished the fire.

Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that the right main landing gear collapsed on initial contact with the runway, and the left main and nose gear collapsed shortly after the right main and subsequently separated from the airplane. Examination of the engines found both the left and right engine fuel controls in a low power setting. Examination of the propeller control found both propellers at 30-degrees. The pilot did not report a flight control or mechanical problems during flight.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's improper landing flare that resulted in a hard landing.