What happened
On Friday, September 4, 2003, a Beechcraft A 36 Bonanza, registration F-GAPZ, was conducting a private flight from Chaumont to Toussus-le-Noble. While operating under IFR, the pilot was instructed by Orly Approach to reduce speed to the minimum approach speed. In compliance with this instruction, the pilot extended the flaps to the approach position.
During the descent, the pilot was transferred through several controllers, eventually receiving clearance for a VOR DME 07 Left approach from Toussus-le-Noble Tower. Following the landing of a preceding Cessna 150, the pilot of the Beechcraft A 36 was cleared to land. However, the aircraft touched down with the landing gear retracted, resulting in a skid on the runway. The impact caused damage to the fuselage, flaps, and propellers. There were no fatalities among the two occupants.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the pilot's sequence of actions and the cockpit configuration. Investigators found that the landing gear lever was in the retracted position, while the flaps were set to the landing position. The pilot reported that the low-gear warning horn activated during the flare.
It was noted that the cockpit design of the Beech 36 features a movable bar on the dashboard that partially obscures the landing gear position lights, requiring the pilot to lean forward to verify their status. The pilot stated that his standard procedure involved extending the gear at 3,000 feet during a level flight segment; however, due to the timing of ATC clearances, he bypassed this level segment and continued a continuous descent.
Findings
- The pilot's attention was distracted by the need to monitor the preceding Cessna 150 on final approach.
- The omission of landing gear extension and verification was caused by a disruption in attention and a failure to prioritize tasks.
- The unusual sequence of ATC instructions led to a rushed approach, preventing the pilot from following his usual stabilized descent profile.