Piper PA28R-200 F-BUTL accident at Romans Saint-Paul

Flight details and accident sequence On 2 March 2018, a Piper PA28R-200 registered F-BUTL was operating a private general aviation flight from Grenoble Isère to Romans Saint-Paul. The pilot, holding a PPL(A) licence issued in June 2001, had 1,950 total flight hours, including 1,710 as pilot-in-command and five hours on the type in the preceding three months. On arrival, the pilot overflew the aerodrome to join the circuit and noted another aircraft conducting an instruction flight. To avoid interfering, he promptly joined the downwind leg for runway 06R, an unpaved runway. He reduced power, set the flaps for approach, and on base leg set the propeller to full fine pitch and the mixture to full rich. He turned to final at approximately 70 kt. An alarm sounded; the pilot believed it was the stall warning, checked the airspeed indicator, and extended full flaps. He continued the approach and landed. The aircraft touched down with the landing gear retracted, skidded, and came to rest on the runway. ## Contributing factors and investigation findings The pilot stated that before departure he had noted that runway 06L/24R, reserved for aircraft, was closed by a NOTAM and that runway 06R/24L, normally reserved for gliders, had to be used. He said he forgot to lower the landing gear on the downwind leg during landing preparation and did not identify the alarm as the gear-not-down warning. On this aircraft model, the gear-not-down alarm sounds when the gear handle is in the retracted position and manifold pressure is below approximately 14 inches of mercury, corresponding to an idle power setting. After the accident, a gear extension test was performed. No malfunction or position-indication anomaly of the landing gear was found. The aircraft was heavily damaged. The pilot was the only person on board.