Incident Overview
On 17 November 2022 at 13:19 UTC, a Diamond DA42 NG aircraft, registration SP-FYE, was conducting multi-engine training at EPDE aerodrome. The crew, consisting of a student pilot and an instructor, was performing exercise ME/5 (crosswind landing training) followed by exercise ME/3 (traffic pattern flight with emergency imitation). During the first two traffic patterns of ME/3, landings were carried out without remarks. In the third pattern, the crew simulated a right engine failure by throttling the right engine to 0% power with flaps retracted.
Sequence of Events
On the downwind leg, the student reduced the right engine power to 0%, triggering a "LANDING GEAR" warning. The instructor asked the student to mute the warning by pressing the "GEAR WARN.MUTE" button. On final approach to runway 12, the instructor did not verify landing gear extension, and the student continued the approach with the gear retracted. The before-landing checklist was not performed.
Just before touchdown, the instructor noticed abnormal aircraft behavior and heard the sound of the aircraft "scrubbing" on the runway during the gear-up landing. The instructor attempted to lower the landing gear lever, but it remained in the up position. After the aircraft came to rest, the instructor notified the tower of the gear-up landing and that the runway could not be vacated. Emergency services arrived, and the instructor then moved the landing gear lever to the up position. The crew exited the aircraft safely, and the instructor reported the occurrence to the Safety Manager.
Cause and Contributing Factors
The State Commission on Aircraft Accidents Investigation determined that the cause of the incident was:
- Failure to complete the “before landing” checklist.
- Failure to check that the landing gear is properly extended and locked.
Contributing factors included:
- Muting of the landing gear warning system.
- Inappropriate distribution of crew attention during flight.
Preventive Measures
The investigating entity proposed and accepted the following measures: discussion of the occurrence with the instructor and students; refresher training on emergencies and checklist usage for instructors flying retractable-gear aircraft; instruction for DA-42 crews on traffic circuit flights and emergency training, including use of aircraft equipment supporting pilot actions; and demonstration of a DA-42 simulator flight covering asymmetric thrust and landing gear warning system in emergencies. No additional safety recommendations were formulated by the Commission.