No fatalities

16 Mar 2009: BEECH D35 — Taos, NM

Taos, NM, United States

On 16 Mar 2009, a BEECH D35 was involved in an aviation accident near Taos, NM. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The failure of the student pilot to complete the before landing checklist. Contributing to the accident was his failure to lower the landing gear before landing. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 6 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

A student pilot landed with the landing gear retracted after a short approach without flaps at a non-towered airport, resulting in substantial fuselage damage but no injury.

Event Summary

A student pilot, flying solo at a non-towered airport after a cross-country flight, executed a landing with the landing gear retracted. The pilot reported that he initiated a short approach, did not use flaps, and maintained an approach speed approximately 30 knots above normal. He stated that he did not follow his normal checklist procedure and felt that everything was progressing "too fast."

Damage and Injuries

The airplane touched down on the asphalt runway with the landing gear not extended. The skin on the belly of the fuselage was abraded down to the main keel, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage structure. The solo student pilot was not injured.

Pilot Actions

The student pilot acknowledged that the approach was faster than usual and that he omitted the normal checklist. The landing gear was not deployed before touchdown.

Contributing factors

Not used/operatedStudent pilot