Incident Overview
A pilot reported that during a landing away from his home base, he did not observe the landing gear down and locked lights illuminating. He assumed the lights were burned out. After departing that location with the landing gear retracted, he flew to his home airport. Upon arrival, he again failed to obtain any gear down and locked indication but continued his landing approach. The landing gear collapsed on touchdown, and the aircraft slid to a stop on its belly.
Pilot Actions and Observations
The pilot stated that the landing gear drive motor had been blowing fuses when he attempted to lower the gear, but it never occurred to him to extend the gear using the emergency system. He acknowledged that the failure to employ the emergency system was due to his own oversight. The aircraft was later lifted from the runway, and the landing gear was extended using the emergency system.
Mechanical Findings
An examination of the landing gear motor revealed it had burned out. The aircraft was manufactured in 1964 and had accumulated 2,376 flight hours since that time. The landing gear motor was an original component and had never been overhauled.
Probable Cause
The pilot's oversight in failing to extend the landing gear using the emergency system.