The pilot reported that he recently purchased the Piper PA-30 to transition from large airplanes back to small airplanes.
He conducted a normal, uneventful flight. When he approached the airport in Navasota, Texas, to land, he went through the “GUMP” checklist twice.
However, when the airplane touched down onto the runway the landing gear was retracted, which resulted in substantial damage to the underlying structure of the lower fuselage.
During a post-accident telephone conversation, the pilot mentioned that he accidentally merged the “GUMPS” check with a checklist he commonly used for large airplanes.
He noted the airplane was not equipped with a landing gear horn, so he was not alerted of the unsafe landing gear condition. He added that a landing gear warning horn will be installed on the airplane during the repair process.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to extend the landing gear before landing.
To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.
This December 2020 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.
I was taught to use GUMPs from the time I started working on my PPL in a C-150. I do it on arrival and a 2nd time right after turning final.
Short final check, Rich, Fine, Green. (Light aircraft)
Sort of a nutty excuse. With or without a fancy checklist, GUMPS has worked for at least 3/4 of a century and thousands of pilots to prevent gear up landings. Of course, it helps to actually use it!
“…he accidentally merged the “GUMPS” check with a checklist he commonly used for large airplanes.”
I’ll be a respectful contrarian.
There’s a difference between NOT doing a “GUMP” check at all…using whatever terminology, and in whatever order you are used to…and DOING it twice…incorrectly.
He is obviously used to working as part of a crew.
As far as muscle memory, ingrained habit patterns and expectation management being factors… that may include someone else calling out and/or executing and confirming that the checklist steps are completed.
But now he’s sitting in the cockpit by himself; it’s all on him. Why did he not “call out”, identify, touch, confirm and manipulate the appropriate levers, knobs, handles, and/or switches needed to ensure the Landing Checklist was complete?
Twice.
Even with “less than 20 hours” in the plane, he should have been past that ‘negative transfer’ hurdle.
Sorry, I’m not buying it. I think something else was going on; he didn’t just “accidentally merge checklists”…he was way behind the plane.
The PA30 has a gear warning horn when the power is reduced below approximately 12”MP. They are all equipped and certified with one. If it wasn’t working then a required piece of equipment was inoperative, sounds like with the pilot’s knowledge. I’m a 39 year airline pilot and we always called for the gear down but always verified by both pilots that there was a green light(s) indication.
I have not fully read the report, but, ideally, DOING something (e.g. extending the landing gear) should be separate from CHECKING that it got (and stayed) done.
It is true, in the airline world, that the command “Gear Down” is often combined with callout “Final Descent Checklist”. The trouble there is that if you forget to say “Gear Down” you are unlikely to call for the associated checklist either.
Makes more sense after reading the pilot’s report. In his airline days, they always started with ‘gear down’ and then the rest of the checklist. Then he transitioned to GUMPS, which has a different sequence – gas, then gear. But the terminology is different – ‘undercarriage’ instead of ‘gear down’. I think it’s a combination of muscle memory and expectation bias – making a change in procedures used over a career is probably highly likely to have some bumps in the road.
I read the report. Kind of a lame excuse, though I realize I could be in his shoes on any given day (retired airline pilot, use to specific checklist discipline). Since I fly a 1946 Globe Swift, there is no manufacturer’s checklist or POH. They didn’t provide those 75 years ago. I use GUMP for my pre-landing checklist. U=UNDERCARRIAGE. It ain’t that complicated. I verbalize, “Gear down,” after lowering the gear and checking for the green light (there’s only a single green light in the Swift), then AGAIN confirm a green light when on short final. No guarantee you won’t be reading a report from me in the future, but I believe that if you use a checklist specific to your aircraft, or a suitable substitute, this will greatly reduce the chance for mistakes. And always check on short final!
This is a very easy-to-do yet quite silly mistake. ALWAYS assure gear down, no matter what! Check twice! I always re-run the checklist quickly to ensure I have conducted each step in order.
I own a 1964 PA-30. The PA-30 is factory equipped with a landing gear warning horn that sounds if the landing gear handle is not down and the manifold pressure is reduced below 12 inches pressure. In this case, the landing gear warning system was either not operating, was removed, or he did not recognize it as the landing gear warning horn when it was going off. Either way, a very good practice is to always verify landing gear down, even after landing checks are complete, prior to landing.