No fatalities

23 Nov 2013: NEW PIPER PA46 350P 350P — Salt Lake City, UT

Salt Lake City, UT, United States
SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

A pilot landed with the landing gear retracted after deviating from his usual traffic pattern due to an ATC request, causing substantial damage to the fuselage.

Incident Overview

The pilot of a single-engine airplane reported that air traffic control (ATC) instructed him to enter a right base leg, crossing in front of a passenger jet that was on final approach to another runway. The pilot accepted this option and stated that he did not feel rushed; however, the deviation from his typical traffic pattern entry interrupted his checklist usage. As a result, he failed to extend the landing gear.

Landing and Damage

The airplane subsequently touched down with the landing gear retracted, leading to a gear-up landing. This caused substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Pilot Statement

The pilot indicated that the interruption from his routine pattern entry and checklist procedures led to the omission of the gear extension step. He did not report any other contributing factors.

Contributing factors

PilotNot used/operated