NTSB Factual Report

On October 11, 2001, at 2030 eastern daylight time, a Beech BE-55-T42A, N44RA, registered to Bellefonte, Inc., of Durham, North Carolina, bounced three times on the nosewheel during landing at Raleigh-Durham International airport in Raleigh, North Carolina. The repositioning flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with an IFR flight plan filed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The commercial pilot was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight departed Charlotte-Douglas International airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, at 1930.

According to the pilot, while conducting a visual approach to runway 23R, "on short final the power was reduced and the nosewheel hit first." He stated that "this was the first of three bounces each worse than the last." The pilot added power to complete the landing and taxied the airplane to the tie-down area.

The post-accident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunction nor did the pilot report a mechanical problem with the airplane during the attempted landing. Further examination of the airplane showed that the propeller blade tips of the left propeller and the nose gear had sustained damage. The left engine mount was bent, the fuselage forward of the cabin door showed wrinkling that extended from the windscreen down both sides of the fuselage, and the nose was displaced upward.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's improper flare, and improper recovery from a bounced landing.