What happened
On May 2, 1999, a Piper PA 23-250 Aztec, registered G-WSFT, was conducting a flight from Bournemouth, England, to Morlaix, France. Upon arrival, the pilot performed a reconnaissance of the Morlaix aerodrome at 2,000 feet before entering the airfield traffic pattern on the downwind leg.
During the landing sequence, the aircraft touched down with the landing gear in the retracted position. The aircraft subsequently slid for approximately 400 meters along the runway before coming to a stop perpendicular to the runway centerline, at the edge of the paved surface. There were no fatalities among the four people on board.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the configuration of the aircraft's landing gear at the moment of impact. While the pilot stated that the landing gear had been extended and that the three green lights indicating a locked gear were visible, investigators found the landing gear bay doors to be closed upon inspection on the ground. Post-accident ground testing of the aircraft revealed no mechanical or technical anomalies in the landing gear system.
Findings
The investigation established that the primary cause of the accident was the failure to extend the landing gear prior to touchdown. The damage sustained by the aircraft included the left main landing gear door, the lower section of the fuselage, and the propellers.