Event Description
During a commercial air taxi flight check administered by an FAA inspector, the airplane landed with its landing gear retracted. The gear-up landing occurred after the pilot and inspector had discussed emergency landing gear extension procedures while in the traffic pattern.
Pilot and Inspector Actions
The commercial pilot who was flying the airplane stated that he placed the landing gear lever in the down position but did not verify that the three green landing gear down-lock lights were illuminated. The FAA inspector also reported that he did not recall looking at the landing gear indication lights prior to landing. Neither pilot remembered hearing a gear warning horn or noticing a flashing gear-not-extended light in the landing gear selector handle during the approach.
Post-Accident Findings
Inspection after the accident revealed that the gear warning light was operating intermittently. Additionally, the gear warning horn would only activate if the left engine throttle was retarded to the stop with considerable back pressure. In contrast, the three green gear-locked lights were found to function satisfactorily.