History of the Flight
The pilot, a 49-year-old private pilot with 2,515 total flying hours including 1,439 on type, departed Tatenhill Airfield for a transit flight to Temple Bruer Airfield, which was unfamiliar to him. Before leaving Tatenhill, he decided to practise short field takeoffs and landings due to the shorter grass runway at his destination. He flew tighter circuits than normal and delayed lowering the landing gear until short final. The low power setting required to descend onto the final approach path, combined with the landing gear selected up, activated the landing gear warning horn on each approach. These circuits were completed without incident.
After departing Tatenhill, the pilot arrived at Temple Bruer Airfield where the surface wind was 090°/5 kt and the weather was CAVOK. He positioned for an approach to Runway 08 but did not lower the landing gear. Although he remembered hearing the landing gear warning horn on final approach, it did not prompt him to extend the gear. The aircraft touched down on the grass with the landing gear retracted and came to a halt on the runway.
Injuries and Damage
The pilot was uninjured and exited the aircraft through the passenger door. The accident resulted in damage to the engine gearbox, propeller, and flaps. The commander held a Private Pilot's Licence and had flown 25 hours in the last 90 days and 12 hours in the last 28 days.
Pilot's Account
The pilot reported that he believed he concentrated so intently on landing at an unfamiliar airfield that he forgot to lower the landing gear. He also thought that he had become accustomed to the warning horn sound during the earlier practice circuits at Tatenhill, which desensitised him to its alert. He considered this the reason the horn did not prompt him to lower the gear at Temple Bruer.