Incident Description
The airplane landed with the landing gear retracted and subsequently veered off the runway. It collided with a ditch, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage.
Examination Findings
An examination conducted by a Federal Aviation Inspector revealed that a propeller strike occurred on the runway centerline at a point 1,999 feet from the approach end of the runway. The propeller strike continued for an additional 843 feet. During the examination, all three landing gear doors were found in the retracted position. The landing gear doors and the tip tanks exhibited evidence of scraping along the runway surface. An examination of the tires showed that all tires were inflated. In the cockpit, the landing gear handle was observed to be in the 'gear up' position. The airplane was placed on jacks, and the battery switch was turned to the 'on' position. The landing gear horn was operational, and all three landing gear position lights were not illuminated. The gear was manually extended, after which the gear horn silenced and all three landing gear position lights illuminated green.