7 Apr 2017: CESSNA 414 UNDESIGNAT — AEROMACK LLC

7 Apr 2017: CESSNA 414 UNDESIGNAT (N56H) — AEROMACK LLC

No fatalities • Atlanta, GA, United States

Probable cause

The pilot's diverted attention during the landing approach, which resulted in his failure to configure the landing gear and a subsequent a gear-up landing.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

On April 7, 2017, at 1250 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 414, N56H, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Atlanta, Georgia. The airline transport pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot stated that, while approaching for landing in gusting wind conditions, the landing runway was changed from runway 26 to runway 32, and the pilot reconfigured the airplane for the new approach. While established on a 1-mile final at about 400 ft above field elevation, the controller cleared another airplane for takeoff. The pilot stated that he was preparing to conduct his before landing checks, and the other airplane on the runway presented a “big distraction.” He considered conducting a go-around, but concerned about obstacle avoidance during the go-around, he chose to continue the approach. The pilot stated that he thought he put the gear down, but could not recall performing his normal call-outs or confirming the before-landing checklist items, including the fuel selector, landing gear, and flaps. During the flare, he felt the airplane settle more than normal and he attempted to pull up, but the airplane settled firmly onto the runway and skidded to a stop. A witness reported that the airplane's landing gear was retracted as it approached the runway. The airplane landed, the propellers impacted the runway, and the airplane skidded to a stop. A post-accident examination conducted by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed structural damage to the fuselage and damage to both engines and propellers. There were two sets of propeller slash marks in the runway from the initial impact point to where the airplane came to rest, a distance of about 650 ft.

Contributing factors

  • Not used/operated
  • Pilot
  • Pilot

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 290/17kt, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.