What happened
On July 20, 2019, a Cessna 177RG, registration CN-TKW, was conducting a private VFR local flight at Fes-Saiss Airport (GMFF) in Morocco. The pilot, accompanied by one passenger, had departed at 13:09 UTC with the intention of performing a series of touch-and-go maneuvers on runway 27.
During the circuit, the aircraft approached for a landing at approximately 13:16 UTC. However, instead of completing the intended touch-and-go, the aircraft landed with its landing gear retracted. The impact caused the propeller blades to strike the ground and resulted in damage to the lower engine cowling and the underside of the airframe. The air traffic controller noticed the aircraft remained stationary on the runway after the initial contact and attempted to contact the pilot via radio. The pilot subsequently informed the tower that the landing had been performed with the gear up because they had forgotten to extend it.
Emergency services (SSLIA) were dispatched to the scene to inspect for fire or sparks, but no fire was detected. Both the pilot and the passenger evacuated the aircraft safely without injury.
The investigation
The investigation focused on why the landing gear was not deployed despite the aircraft being equipped with both visual indicators (amber for up, green for down) and an audible warning alarm that triggers when the throttle is retarded below approximately 12 inches if the gear is not locked down.
Investigators examined the pilot's flight experience and found a significant disparity in aircraft types. While the pilot had a total of 245 flight hours, nearly all were performed on fixed-gear aircraft. At the time of the accident, the pilot had only accumulated 1 hour and 50 minutes of flight time specifically on retractable-gear aircraft, all of which occurred during training sessions in July 2019.
Upon inspection of the aircraft after the event, investigators found the landing gear lever in the "UP" position, confirming that the extension sequence had not been initiated.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the failure to apply the pre-landing checklist.
- A significant contributing factor was the pilot's lack of experience operating retractable-gear aircraft, as the majority of their flight time was spent in fixed-gear airplanes.
- The pilot failed to monitor the cockpit's visual landing gear indicators and the audible warning system.