The pilot in a retractable landing gear Beech C90, accompanied by a company check pilot, reported that they were conducting a training flight in preparation for a Title 14 CFR Part 135 check ride.
During a no-flap landing, as the airplane crossed the runway threshold at the airport in Montague, California, the pilot set the airplane power to idle, and an aural warning sounded, which indicated the landing gear was retracted.
The airplane landed with the landing gear retracted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage.
The pilots reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable cause: The failure of pilot to extend the landing gear during landing.
NTSB Identification: GAA18CA137
This February 2018 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
C-GUMPS is the flow check prior to the checklist.
C- carb heat
G- Gas includes selecting correct tanks or tanks and associated boost pumps
U- undercarriage also includes flaps at the appropriate time
M-mixture if appropriate
P-PROP and autofeather, etc.
Run the CHECKLIST complete!
This works in all sorts of aircraft. I often fly vastly different aircraft in the same day.
I had a gearup landing, they say there’s two kind of pilots, “those that have and those that will”. Not that I totally agree with the statement mainly because of this reason, with gearup, it’s very hard to get the airspeed to slow for landing. If your in a retractable and your fighting to get your airspeed down to land, CHECK YOUR GEAR.
Forget acronyms, use the checklist. This is why they landed with the gear up. Checklist Checklist Checklist!
GUMP is NOT supposed to replace a checklist! It should be used as a last reminder to keep you from making an expensive mistake.
I’ve ALWAYS checked landing ‘gear down’ right before I‘ve pulled back power – in spite of all checklists completed. Even if there was no ‘M’ and ‘P’ to check! Particularly if your airplane is turbine powered it is too late to shove in power when you hear the horn. In a piston aircraft it might still work if you’re lucky.
Once the checklist is completed and announced BEFORE LANDING CHECKLIST COMPLETE there is nothing left to do but to concentrate on flying the acft. If you need last minute reminders you are not executing the checklist correctly.
Absolutely right GUMP GUMP GUMP!
I wonder, however, why the gear warning horn has not sounded earlier.
On a no flap landing you either have to fly an extremely shallow approach to get speed down – or you have to reduce power far enough to get a gear horn warning long enough before your props hit the ground.
(ATP/3500h in KA 90)
Did they make any effort to abort the landing? I know that turbine engines do take longer to respond to large throttle movements but on most there is a Flight Idle function (vs. Ground Idle) to keep the engine from slowing to the point that Go Around’s become impossible at low altitudes. Once the airframe senses Weight on Wheels (squat switch usually) it will allow the engine to drop down to the Ground Idle limit.
GUMP GUMP GUMP….GAS, UNDERCARRIAGE, MIXTURE, BOOST PUMPS
As a CFI,II, MEI for about 50 years the gump goes into my head no matter what I’m flying. That an instructor did not catch this fundamental mistake makes me think he should be looking for another profession. And I’m an ATP.
In addition to GUMP, do not attempt to land with a warning horn activated.
I’d never thought of it that way, but it’s remarkably good advice. On the other hand, there was a C-17 that had a gear-up landing in Iraq several years ago. They landed with a warning horn going off, but they were expecting one. The problem was, it was a different horn. They had expectation bias. They were looking for a warning horn, and they got one.