What happened
On 17 July 2021, a Cessna 402C, registration VQ-TIN, was performing a scheduled commercial flight from Providenciales International Airport to Ambergris Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands. The flight was the pilot's seventh of the day. Following an engine starting issue with the originally assigned aircraft, the crew switched to a replacement aircraft.
During the approach to Harold Charles International Airport, the pilot selected the flaps to the 45-degree position. Although the pilot believed the landing gear had been selected to the down position and observed green indicator lights, the aircraft actually touched down on its underside. The landing gear remained in the up and locked position throughout the landing. As the aircraft made contact with the runway, it began to skid, and the propellers struck the ground. The aircraft slid down the runway before coming to a halt. There were no injuries among the five passengers or the pilot, though the aircraft sustained extensive damage to the propellers, flaps, and fuselage underside, and both engines suffered shock-loading.
The investigation
The investigation focused on why the landing gear was not extended and why the pilot was unaware of the error. Investigators examined the aircraft's cockpit and found that while the landing gear handle was in the down position, the gear itself was actually retracted and locked.
Technical examination revealed that the landing gear warning horn was unserviceable due to a broken wire near the flap selector lever. This failure meant that the audible alarm, which should have triggered when the flaps were extended with the gear retracted, did not sound. Furthermore, the investigation looked into the pilot's pre-flight activities and found that the internal pre-flight check, which includes testing the annunciator panel and warning horn, had not been performed. Evidence also suggested that the Normal Procedures checklist was not utilized during the flight.