What happened
On May 22, 2013, at approximately 19:30 UTC, a Beechcraft 95-B55, registration PT-ONR, was performing a local flight over the Fazenda Paulista property in Santa Terezinha de Itaipu, Paraná. The aircraft, operated for private purposes, was carrying a pilot and one passenger. During the landing sequence, the pilot failed to extend the landing gear. Consequently, the aircraft made contact with the runway while the gear remained retracted, causing the propellers and engines to strike the ground abruptly. The impact resulted in substantial damage to the engines and propellers, though the aircraft remained on the runway and did not deviate significantly from the path until after the initial impact.
The investigation
The investigation conducted by SERIPA V focused on the sequence of events leading to the gear-up landing. Investigators examined the pilot's experience, noting he held 285 total flight hours, with 202 hours specifically in the B55 model. Technical inspections of the aircraft's landing gear system were performed, and no mechanical abnormalities or malfunctions were detected in the gear deployment mechanism.
Furthermore, the investigation revealed that the aircraft's maintenance logs for the airframe, engines, and propellers were not up to date, with the last recorded entries dating back to March 2013, despite the aircraft having flown in May 2013. The investigation also determined that the pilot did not utilize the required checklists during the flight operations.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the failure to extend the landing gear due to pilot error.
- The pilot's failure to perform the prescribed checklist during the flight contributed to the omission of the landing gear deployment step.
- Human factors, specifically related to attitude and memory, were identified as contributing factors to the occurrence.
- The aircraft's maintenance documentation (cell, engine, and propeller logs) was found to be outdated.