On July 1, 1983, a Beech 95-A55 (registration N1494G) was involved in an aviation accident near Franklin, CA. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to lower the landing gear prior to touchdown due to distraction during a training maneuver. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
During a training flight simulating a single-engine landing, the instructor and student became distracted by conversation and forgot to lower the landing gear before touchdown.
What happened
An aircraft touched down on the runway with its landing gear retracted during a routine training exercise. The flight was being conducted under the supervision of a certified flight instructor (CFI) who was demonstrating procedures for handling an engine failure. Specifically, the CFI was simulating a single-engine landing scenario to teach proper techniques.
According to the pilot's account, both the instructor and the student pilot were deeply engaged in conversation during the approach phase. This distraction led to a critical oversight: neither individual remembered to extend the landing gear before reaching the runway. The situation was exacerbated by the nature of the simulation. Because the CFI was simulating zero thrust on one engine while maintaining power on the other, the airspeed and configuration did not trigger the typical low-speed or flap warnings that might have alerted them sooner.
The stall warning horn remained silent until just moments before touchdown. This delay occurred because the simulated condition involved 12 inches of mercury pressure representing zero thrust on the dead engine side, which altered the aerodynamic profile enough to prevent the warning system from activating earlier in the approach.
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to lower the landing gear prior to touchdown due to distraction during a training maneuver.