No fatalities

2002-12-16: BAe 125 (N55RF) — National Aircraft Leasing — Seattle-Boeing Field, United States of America

Seattle-Boeing Field, United States of AmericaLanding (descent or approach)

On December 16, 2002, a BAe 125 (registration N55RF) operated by National Aircraft Leasing was involved in an aviation accident near Seattle-Boeing Field, United States of America during landing or approach. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The landing gear down and locked was not verified prior to landing. The checklist was not followed, and an inoperative landing gear warning horn were factors. This summary draws on records from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A).

Sourcesthe Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A)Primary reportUpdated 1781201443Data APIEditorial standards

An aircraft landed with its landing gear retracted after the crew failed to verify gear extension. An inoperative warning horn and non-adherence to checklist were identified as contributing factors.

Incident Overview

During the approach phase, the co-pilot was the flying pilot while the captain provided directions. The captain reported that he extended the flaps and the landing gear. However, when the aircraft touched down, the landing gear was not extended. The co-pilot stated that she had looked down at the landing gear lever and observed "three green lights" during the approach.

Analysis of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) revealed that the co-pilot directed the captain to call inbound. The captain acknowledged and said "fifteen flaps." The co-pilot then responded, "fifteen flaps, before landing." The captain did not reply but instead made a radio transmission. Shortly after, the captain stated he was extending the flaps to 25 degrees and made another radio transmission to the tower. The co-pilot then said "final, sync, ignitions," to which the captain replied "ignitions on." Full flaps were subsequently extended.

The captain continued to give the co-pilot directions for heading, speed, and altitude during the approach. At approximately 300 feet, the captain stated, "yaw damper's off, air valves are off, ready to land." The captain reported that it became obvious that touchdown occurred on the flaps and keel. After landing, the captain raised the flaps, shut down the engines, and confirmed that the landing gear handle was in the down position.

Investigation Findings

A gear swing test was conducted, during which the landing gear cycled several times without difficulty. All red and green lights illuminated at the proper positions. However, during the test, the landing gear not extended warning horn did not function when the gear was retracted, the flaps were fully extended, and the power levers were at idle. Further inspection revealed a bad set of contacts to the relay; when the relay was bypassed, the horn sounded.

Damage to the aircraft included scrape marks around the circumference of the outer rims of both outer tires. The outer surfaces of the gear door fairings were scraped, and the flap hinge fairings were ground down.

Probable Cause

The landing gear down and locked was not verified prior to landing. The checklist was not followed, and an inoperative landing gear warning horn were factors.