What happened
On March 20, 2025, at approximately 12:46 JST, a privately owned PIPER PA-28RT-201T, registration JA4128, was conducting a familiarization flight at Oshima Airport in Tokyo Metropolis. The flight was being operated under visual flight rules with a pilot and one passenger on board.
During the approach to Runway 21, the pilot joined the traffic pattern from the base leg rather than the usual downwind leg. While transitioning to final approach, the pilot extended the flaps but failed to deploy the landing gear. As the aircraft descended, the pilot became preoccupied with maintaining the correct approach path amidst slight turbulence. At an altitude of approximately 3 meters, the pilot noticed a warning light on the instrument panel but misidentified it as a stall warning.
The aircraft subsequently made contact with the runway surface with its propeller and the underside of the fuselage. The impact caused damage to the propeller blades and the lower fuselage, though no fire broke out. The pilot and passenger sustained no injuries.
The investigation
The Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB) examined the aircraft's landing gear warning system and found that both the visual light and the audible horn were functioning correctly. The investigation also reviewed the pilot's flight history, noting that while the pilot had experience with retractable gear in the past, they had primarily flown fixed-gear aircraft since 2010.
Investigators also looked into the pilot's cockpit procedures. It was established that the pilot was performing flight tasks from memory rather than utilizing a checklist. Furthermore, the passenger's statement indicated that they were focused on monitoring the aircraft's altitude during the final approach, which prevented them from noticing the gear configuration error.
Findings
- The pilot failed to extend the landing gear because the change in the arrival pattern (joining from the base leg) removed the habitual trigger used to initiate the gear down procedure.
- The pilot's reliance on memory instead of a checklist prevented the detection of the omission.
- The pilot misidentified the landing gear warning light as a stall warning, indicating an insufficient understanding of the aircraft's specific warning systems.
- The pilot's focus on correcting the approach angle and managing turbulence led to a loss of situational awareness regarding the aircraft's configuration.