What happened
On March 2, 2018, a private Piper PA28R-200, registration F-BUTL, was conducting a general aviation flight from Grenoble Isère to Romans Saint-Paul. Upon arrival, the pilot observed another aircraft performing instructional maneuvers in the airfield circuit. To avoid interference, the pilot joined the downwind leg for runway 06R, an unpaved strip typically reserved for gliders, as the main runway was closed via NOTAM.
During the approach, the pilot reduced power and configured the flaps for landing. While transitioning to the final approach at approximately 70 knots, an audible alarm sounded in the cockpit. The pilot, misidentifying the sound as a stall warning, checked the airspeed indicator and proceeded to deploy full flaps. The aircraft subsequently touched down on the runway with the landing gear retracted. The aircraft slid along the runway before coming to a halt, resulting in heavy damage to the airframe.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the pilot's actions during the approach and the nature of the cockpit warning. The pilot, an experienced aviator with 1,950 total flight hours, admitted to forgetting to extend the landing gear during the configuration phase on the downwind leg.
Technical analysis of the aircraft's warning system revealed that an alarm triggers on this specific model when the gear lever is in the 'up' position and the manifold pressure falls below approximately 14 inches of mercury (a condition typically met when the throttle is at idle). The investigation found that the pilot failed to recognize this specific warning as a gear-up alert. Post-accident testing of the landing gear mechanism showed no mechanical or electrical malfunctions.