What happened
On 9 January 2007, a Beech 90 King Air, registration OY-JRO, was conducting a non-revenue commercial air transport positioning flight from Coventry to Cardiff. During the approach to Cardiff Airport, the pilot failed to select the landing gear in the down position. The error was identified by Air Traffic Control (ATC) at approximately 1,000 ft aal, at which point the controller alerted the pilot. Following this notification, the commander discontinued the approach and performed a go-around as per company procedures.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the pilot's failure to verify the gear configuration and the environmental factors present during the approach. The aircraft was flying through heavy showers and experiencing strong crosswinds and turbulence. The pilot transitioned to manual flight because the turbulence exceeded the capabilities of the autopilot. The investigation noted that the noise of heavy precipitation hitting the windscreen and airframe likely masked the audible sound of the landing gear moving into position. The pilot acknowledged that he had failed to perform standard cockpit checks and credited the ATC controller for identifying the oversight.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was the pilot's failure to perform standard landing gear checks.
- High cockpit workload, driven by the need to manually fly the aircraft through significant turbulence, contributed to the lapse.
- Environmental conditions, specifically heavy rain, likely prevented the pilot from hearing the gear deployment.
- There were no injuries and no damage to the aircraft.