Overview
The pilot executed a landing with the landing gear still retracted, resulting in a propeller strike on the runway. The incident occurred after the pilot became distracted while monitoring another aircraft.
Sequence of Events
During the approach to the destination airport, the pilot entered the traffic pattern and heard a transmission from an airplane conducting an intersection takeoff. The pilot looked down to note the location of that aircraft. When he looked back into the cockpit, the airspeed was within the flap operating range, and he extended the flaps to 15 degrees. On final approach, the pilot did not retard the throttle to idle, so the landing gear warning horn did not activate. The pilot proceeded with the landing and did not realize the landing gear was not extended until the propeller struck the runway.
Pilot Statement
The pilot stated that while looking for the departing airplane, he became distracted, did not use the checklist, and forgot to lower the landing gear. He further reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane or engine.