Incident Details
On May 1, 2013, about 0745 central daylight, a Cessna P210N airplane, registration N731NR, experienced a gear-up landing at Spirit of St. Louis Airport (SUS) in St. Louis, Missouri. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the fuselage structure and engine. The pilot did not report any injuries.
Flight Information
The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. The flight departed from St. Charles County Smartt Airport (SET) in St. Charles, Missouri, about 0700. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and the flight operated without a flight plan.
Approach and Landing
While on left base of the traffic pattern at SUS, air traffic control instructed the pilot to make a short approach for traffic avoidance. The pilot stated that he lowered the landing gear handle but was unsure if the landing gear down indicator light illuminated. He normally visually checked the landing gear but did not recall doing so on the accident approach. He did not hear an audible landing gear warning horn during the approach. The pilot reported being distracted by testing his air conditioner and noted an odd smell in the cockpit, which he suspected might be from the air conditioner malfunctioning. The airplane touched down on the runway with the landing gear retracted.
Examination Findings
During examination by maintenance and Federal Aviation Administration personnel, the landing gear was sequenced several times using both normal and emergency modes, with no abnormalities found. The red gear-up warning light, green gear-down light, and audible warning horn all functioned properly. The pilot noted that during the airplane's last annual inspection, the audible warning system was reported to be out of adjustment, but this issue was not duplicated during the examination. Examination of the landing gear system revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.