Incident Overview
A commercial pilot with 1,391 hours of flight experience was conducting a landing flare in a twin-engine airplane when the landing gear warning horn activated. According to the pilot's account, he responded by adding engine power to initiate a go-around while simultaneously extending the landing gear. The airplane's propellers subsequently struck the runway surface, and the aircraft skidded approximately 650 feet before coming to a stop on the runway.
Post-Event Examination
After the airplane came to a stop, the pilot egressed through the left cabin door without injury. Examination of the cockpit controls revealed that the throttles were in the full forward position and the landing gear selector handle was in the down position. The inboard main gear doors were found in the retracted position, indicating that the landing gear sequencing had not started at the time the airplane touched down on the runway.
Company Policy Context
The flight was conducted under company policy that directed the pilot to extend the landing gear prior to descending below 1,000 feet above ground level (AGL) on approach. The pilot's actions during the landing flare deviated from this standard operating procedure.