On the downwind leg of the traffic pattern at the airport in Groton, Connecticut, the pilot receiving instruction and the flight instructor were having a conversation about when to extend the landing gear, as the pilot receiving instruction was new to the Piper PA-23-200.
During the discussion the pilots were contacted by air traffic control (ATC) and a conversation took place about a possible change of runway.
After the exchange with ATC the pilots did not return to their conversation about when to extend the landing gear. After being cleared to land, the pilot receiving instruction performed a normal approach to landing.
The pilots reported that they realized they had forgotten to extend the landing gear when they heard the airplane contact the runway. The airplane skidded down the asphalt, resulting in substantial damage to the external longerons of the fuselage.
The airplane was equipped with a landing gear position warning horn that was designed to sound when either of the throttles were pulled back for landing. Neither pilot specifically remembered hearing the warning horn during the landing. After the airplane was recovered, the landing gear warning horn was tested and was found to operate normally.
The flight instructor reported that there were no pre-accident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable Cause: The pilot receiving instruction’s failure to extend the landing gear prior to landing. Also contributing was the flight instructor’s failure to monitor the airplane’s configuration while on approach to land.
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This January 2024 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.
A pilot was the owner of an airline flying Dornier-228. Most of the trips would be to a mountain airstrip in Lukla, Nepal. Loaded with trekkers or mountaineers, most airlines would want to complete these high revenues flights. This leads to procedures where pilots have to navigate through mountains and valleys through clouds and rain. VFR minimums are something to be known and remembered, but mostly not acted upon.
Talking with the fellow pilot and the ATC, the pilot meanders left right to avoid terrain and weather. At the moment when the airstrip (runway) is visual, sometimes close to the runway, excitement overtakes all checks and balances. “Hey!! runway is visual, prop levers full fine…select land flap”. Unfortunately landing gear is not selected down.
Landing on a high-altitude airstrip in weather requires training, experience and discipline. Sleep is not enough if the owner is preoccupied with the day’s activities. It is alarming meet a pilot with teary red eyes owing to less sleep and also suffering from cold.
Incidences can happen and have happened.
What happened to the sterile cockpit rule on this one? GUMPS should be performed when entering the pattern and again when established on final.
No worries. When they lift the aircraft up for repairs, the wheels will
come
down
I fly a twin and I always put the gear down a long way from the airport. I always check a few more times just to be sure. If I land gear up, my plane is totaled so I don’t mind going a bit slower with the gear down.
Stupid. Ask a real pilot, like a retired Army pilot or Marine.
I flew with a retired army pilot yesterday, what an experience. He called out every action before doing it.
A true professional will not have a gear-up landing.
Since the likely distraction is the CFI, perhaps a standard should be him calling for a GUMP check at mid final 🤔
Better is demanding that CFIs go Sterile cockpit once the aircraft is in the pattern. They are very distractive otherwise
“…those who have and those who will” is an incredibly silly and inaccurate cliche’. If it were true no one would be able to afford insurance. I do feel for the pilots involved though; the embarrassment of the incident will haunt them for years. Nicknames like “Skid” and “Scrape” are hard to live down. But time itself seems to always make such appellations somewhat endearing among friends, and everybody else simply forgets.
Yeah, no kidding about the “…those that will” part of that saying. What a bunch of crap. It was invented by someone who landed gear-up, someone defending themselves saying “I did it, but you will too, someday.” Really? As you said, NO ONE COULD GET INSURANCE if landing gear-up was so common. That saying is like “There are those who ran out of fuel, and those who will,” or “There are those who left the tow bar on the nose gear and took off and those who will.”
There are those pilots who have made a gear-up landing, and those who will. OK, now it is out of the way.
I guess the most frustrating part is, if the instructor couldn’t prevent the gear-up landing, what was he being paid for?
Seems to me there should be some sort of simulator for running out of fuel and gear-up landings. I’m thinking it would have to hurt and involve extreme fright, though, in order to drive the point home. Maybe electro-shock and some chemical that causes overwhelming stress…
If you live through the training modules, you get the ticket.
“Maybe electro-shock” – that’s what I need to stop standing up when I swing at a golf ball. =)
GUMPS…
“Another one trying to land without wheels! You can train monkeys to fly better than that!”
No words needed…….CFI in error ……….
We are running out of aircraft…..
So what does the FAA say?
What is the FAA doing?
Most FAA operations inspectors are not current and do no flight testing ……
So what is next…….?
It’s was hard to continue the conversation about when to lower the landing gear with the pesky gear warning horn blasting away!
Talking—it’s very very distracting. Amazingly distracting. They were talking to ATC and with each other, that’s what caused it.
At least they didn’t run out of fuel!
think the Seneca is a PA-34
Correct.
yup. another one bites the dust.!
And, the most costly type of crash for the insurance cos. !!
Here we go again.
Instead of fretting about each new airplane crash raising your insurance, maybe it would be more interesting to watch your insurance rates go up, and then try to find the actual crash that caused it.