On October 5, 1997, a Cessna 210L (registration N93089) was involved in an aviation accident near Albuquerque, NM. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot failed to check the gear down green light due to distraction from a bright GPS annunciator light. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
A pilot was distracted by a bright GPS annunciator light on final approach, leading to a failure to check the landing gear down green light and a subsequent gear-up landing on runway 30.
Incident Description
The pilot was vectored onto a long final approach to runway 30. About 3 miles from the runway, he slowed the airplane to 140 knots (Vgo), then slowed further to the flap operating speed (Vfo). He was going through the final prelanding checklist when a bright annunciator light on the GPS display panel illuminated. The pilot stated that he was distracted by this light and attempted to turn it off. As a result, he did not check the gear down green light and landed with the landing gear retracted. The gear warning horn sounded as he flared, but he reported that it was too late to avoid the gear-up landing.
The aircraft had been vectored onto final approach, and no other abnormalities were reported during the approach or landing. The pilot's written account confirms that the distraction from the GPS annunciator light led to the omission of the gear check. The landing was executed with the gear retracted, consistent with the pilot's description.
Probable Cause
According to the pilot, the cause of the gear-up landing was his failure to verify the gear down green light due to distraction caused by a bright GPS annunciator light.