What happened
During a business flight, a jet airplane was performing its final approach for landing. While positioned on the left base leg, the pilot initiated the extension of the flaps and moved the landing gear handle to the down position. Although the pilot did not explicitly confirm the gear was locked, no cockpit warnings or landing gear caution lights were observed during the descent.
As the aircraft approached the runway, the pilot noted an unusually long float. Upon touchdown, it became apparent that the landing gear had not been properly deployed. The aircraft subsequently skidded along the runway, coming to a halt just beyond the departure end of the runway. Following the stop, the pilot shut down the engines and began evacuating the passengers. During this process, a fire was reported near the right engine, which eventually engulfed the entire aircraft.
Findings
Investigations into the incident revealed that the landing gear was not properly secured prior to touchdown. While the gear handle was found in the down position, the main landing gear uplocks were in the unlocked position, and the left main landing gear door was partially extended. It is believed the pilot may have moved the gear handle to the extended position only immediately before or during the landing phase.
Data from ADS-B indicated that the aircraft was approaching the runway with an excessive airspeed of approximately 143 knots. This speed was above the 130-knot threshold required to trigger the landing gear not extended warning system. Furthermore, the flaps were likely set to a 15-degree configuration, which would not have activated the automated warnings. Ultimately, the accident was driven by the fact that stabilized approach criteria for airspeed and configuration were not maintained.