Accident Overview
On August 20, 2019, at approximately 1435 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 210M airplane, registration N501SF, sustained substantial damage during a gear-up landing near Eugene, Oregon. The student pilot was the sole occupant and reported no injuries. The flight was being conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instructional flight.
Pilot Report
The student pilot, on his third supervised solo flight, reported that shortly after departure, while at an altitude of about 3,000 feet mean sea level, he detected a smoke odor in the cockpit. He decided to return to the departure airport and performed a landing with the landing gear retracted. The pilot stated that he did not attempt to extend the landing gear using the normal selector switch or the emergency extension procedure. He explained, “I thought I was on fire and just wanted to get the airplane on the ground.”
Mechanical Examination
A post-accident examination by a mechanic revealed that the electric motor powering the hydraulic power pack pump for the landing gear remained powered after the accident. The mechanic opined that the motor likely did not deactivate during gear retraction, which would have caused it to overheat and burn out, generating smoke in the cockpit. The mechanic could not determine why the motor failed to shut off as designed. No other mechanical anomalies were reported by the pilot regarding the airplane or engine that would have prevented normal operation.