What happened
On April 15, 2005, a Piper PA-34-220T (registration PH-JBJ) was conducting a multi-leg training flight as part of a larger navigation exercise. The flight was traveling from Luxembourg Airport toward Maastricht Aachen Airport, with a final destination of Teuge. During the flight, the instructor actively simulated various engine failures to test the student pilot's responses.
Upon approaching Maastricht Aachen Airport, the flight was operating under a "single pilot operations" concept, meaning the student was responsible for all cockpit tasks while the instructor remained passive. After receiving instructions from air traffic control, the student opted for a visual approach. During the downwind leg, the instructor simulated an engine fire in the left engine. While the student performed the initial emergency procedures correctly, they initially failed to reduce power on the remaining engine, requiring intervention from the instructor.
As the aircraft transitioned to the final approach for runway 22, the student performed final checks. However, due to the ongoing simulated emergency and instructor feedback, the student failed to verify the landing gear position. As the throttles were retarded for landing, the "gear unsafe" warning sounded, followed immediately by the sound of the aircraft's fuselage scraping the runway. The aircraft came to a stop on the runway with significant damage to the engines, propellers, and fuselage belly. All three occupants escaped the aircraft without injury.
The investigation
The investigation focused on why the landing gear was not extended despite the student performing other emergency procedures. The OVV established that the student was managing a high workload due to the intensive nature of the training. Several factors contributed to the oversight:
- The student was performing a rapid descent at the request of air traffic control.
- The approach speed was higher than standard, which caused the student to delay gear extension to avoid exceeding the maximum gear extension speed.
- The student experienced difficulty locating the runway during the approach.
- The instructor's simulation of an engine fire interrupted the student's flow of final checks.
- The student and instructor were both heavily focused on managing the aircraft's altitude to prevent a high approach.
Findings
The primary cause of the incident was the failure to extend the landing gear. This was driven by an excessive cognitive workload placed on the student pilot. The investigation found that the instructor's decision to simulate an engine fire during a high-workload phase of flight—specifically during a rapid descent and visual approach—created a level of stress that exceeded the student's capacity to manage all necessary tasks. Consequently, the critical check for the gear position was omitted, and the instructor failed to notice the omission while focused on the simulated emergency.