What happened
On 13 June 2003, a Beech 76 Duchess, registration G-BOFC, was conducting a training flight at Exeter Airport. The flight was intended to consist of a series of circuits and landings on the dry asphalt of Runway 26. During the approach, the student pilot was acting as the handling pilot.
As the aircraft progressed through the landing sequence, the crew selected a 10° flap setting while on the downwind leg. Upon reaching 200 feet during the base leg, the crew selected full flaps. However, the crew failed to verify that the landing gear had been extended. Consequently, the aircraft touched down on the runway with the landing gear in the retracted position. The aircraft came to a halt on the runway, at which point the commander heard the gear warning horn.
There were no injuries to the two crew members on board. The impact caused damage to the lower fuselage and resulted in both propellers being bent and the engines being shock loaded.
The investigation
The investigation was based on an aircraft accident report submitted by the pilot. The inquiry established that the gear warning horn, which triggers when full flaps are selected without the gear being down and locked, only became audible as the aircraft stopped on the runway. The commander noted that the timing of the full flap selection meant the warning occurred at a point when the handling pilot's attention was focused on the imminent touchdown.