CHI94LA213

Factual narrative

On June 30, 1994, at 1358 eastern daylight time (edt), a Beech BE-19, N6966Q, registered to Lowell E. Swift, collided with runway 27 (3,700 x 75') while landing at the Ionia County Airport, Ionia, Michigan, during on a solo instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged and the student pilot was not injured. The flight originated from Grand Rapids, Michigan, on June 30, 1994, at 1330 edt. The pilot reported that during the landing flare, the airplane ballooned so he decided to initiate a go-around. He reported that the engine did not respond when he pushed the throttle in. He stated he closed the throttle, removed the carburetor heat, and slowly advanced power twice still without any response from the engine. The airplane contacted the runway and bounced. On the second impact, the left main gear and nose gear collapsed. The airplane was inspected by a Principal Maintenance Inspector (PMI) from the Grand Rapids Flight Standards District Office. The PMI was able to perform a test run of the engine. He stated the engine "ran and accelerated normally" during the test and no other failures/malfunctions were found which would have resulted in the lack of engine response. THE PILOT STATED THE AIRPLANE BOUNCED DURING TOUCHDOWN. HE ADVANCED THE THROTTLE TO GO-AROUND; HOWEVER, THE ENGINE DID NOT RESPOND. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE RUNWAY AND BOUNCED AGAIN. THE LEFT MAIN GEAR AND THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED. POST ACCIDENT INSPECTION REVEALED NORMAL OPERATION OF THE ENGINE DURING A TEST RUN. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12