On July 13, 2000, a Cessna 337G (registration N3273D) operated by US Dept OF Interior was involved in an aviation accident near Battle Mountain, NV. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: Failure of the pilot to extend the landing gear, and his failure to follow the published before landing checklist concerning extension of the landing gear. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive; 2 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
An airplane landed with its landing gear retracted after the pilot did not confirm the gear was down using the handle position, indicator light, or mirror, and did not follow a checklist.
Incident Overview
The airplane was landed with its landing gear retracted. The pilot acknowledged that during the landing sequence, he did not verify that the landing gear handle was in the down position, nor did he check the green indicator light that would confirm the gear was locked down. Additionally, the pilot did not use the aircraft's mirror to visually confirm that the landing gear was extended.
Pilot Actions and Checklist Usage
The pilot stated that he did not follow a mental or printed checklist during the landing approach. Earlier that same day, the pilot had flown the airplane without encountering any discrepancies with the landing gear system. The absence of mechanical issues suggests that the gear system was functioning properly, and the landing gear failure was due to the pilot's omission of standard verification procedures.
Aircraft Damage
As a result of the gear-up landing, the airplane sustained damage. The extent of damage is not specified in the available information.