Incident Overview
A student pilot performed a gear-up landing during his third solo flight. The incident occurred after the pilot extended the downwind leg of the traffic pattern to provide spacing for another aircraft. During the approach, the pilot forgot to extend the landing gear and inadvertently landed with the gear retracted.
Pilot Account
According to the student pilot, the landing gear warning system activated during the landing sequence. However, the pilot misinterpreted the alert, believing it to be the stall warning instead. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the aircraft, and the gear-up landing was solely due to his oversight.
Aircraft Damage
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the bottom cabin structure of the fuselage as a result of the gear-up landing. No other damage was reported.
Background
The student pilot was conducting his third solo landing at the time of the incident. The decision to extend the downwind leg was made to maintain safe spacing from another aircraft in the traffic pattern.