Beech 58 Gear-Up Landing at Palwaukee Municipal Airport (N3240R)

Incident Overview A Beech 58 experienced a gear-up landing on runway 16 at Palwaukee Municipal Airport in Wheeling, Illinois. The aircraft touched down in the center of the runway, slid for a short distance, and came to rest half off the left side of the runway without striking any lights. ## Pilot Report The pilot provided a written statement describing the approach. Palwaukee air traffic control issued a straight-in approach clearance for runway 16 and instructed the pilot to notify the tower two miles out. The pilot positioned the aircraft to the left to align with the runway and initiated a slow descent toward traffic pattern altitude. Approximately 3.5 miles from the runway, the tower cleared the aircraft to land. ## Contributing Factors While beginning the prelanding checklist, the pilot reported becoming distracted by what was initially believed to be collision avoidance equipment but was actually the gear warning horn. With other aircraft visible about 1.5 miles away, the pilot focused on locating them and did not complete the checklist or perform the standard prelanding GUMPS check. As a result, the landing gear remained retracted at touchdown.