Incident Overview
During a maintenance test flight following an annual inspection, the pilot conducted a landing without the landing gear extended. The pilot reported placing the gear handle in the down position and stated that no gear warning horn activated during the approach. The landing resulted in a gear-up touchdown.
Investigation Details
Post-accident examination of the landing gear system revealed that the gear operated normally when cycled. The gear position indicator lights functioned correctly. However, the gear warning horn was found to be unreliable. The pilot noted that his attention was diverted from standard procedures by the presence of another person—a mechanic who is also a pilot—in the aircraft, as well as by traffic considerations.
Findings
The investigation determined that the pilot did not ensure the landing gear was extended before touchdown. The gear warning horn, which would typically alert the pilot to an unsafe gear condition, was unreliable. The pilot's focus was split between flying the aircraft, managing traffic, and the presence of an additional crew member. The gear system itself was functioning properly, as were the indicator lights, leaving the warning horn as the only system anomaly.