Flight Summary
On 20 August 2021, a Piper PA-31-350 aircraft, registration HK5087, was operating a non-scheduled passenger flight from Cali (SKCL) to López de Micay (SKZI), Cauca, Colombia. The flight carried two crew members and seven passengers. At approximately 15:25 local time, during the approach to López de Micay, the crew initiated a go-around after encountering an obstruction (a communication antenna) on the final approach to runway 09. The pilot retracted the landing gear and entered a right-hand circuit to approach runway 27.
While maneuvering for the new approach, the crew became focused on locating the runway, which was surrounded by dense vegetation. They forgot to extend the landing gear. As the aircraft flared for landing, both propellers struck the runway surface. The pilot immediately applied power and performed a go-around. After verifying normal engine parameters, the crew decided to return to Cali, where the aircraft landed without further incident at 16:20 local time.
Occupant and Aircraft Status
All two crew members and seven passengers disembarked unharmed. The aircraft sustained damage to both propellers, experienced sudden engine stoppage, and lost communication antennas located on the lower fuselage due to contact with the runway.
Investigation Findings
The Colombian accident investigation authority (DIACC) determined that the serious incident was caused by the propeller blades striking the runway surface during an attempted landing with the landing gear retracted. This resulted from non-compliance with normal operational procedures, specifically the pre-landing checklist. Additionally, the operator's operational and safety processes were found to be deficient, as they had not conducted a risk analysis for the López de Micay runway and provided inadequate flight planning and supervision.
A contributing factor was the crew's overconfidence and focus on locating the runway, which weakened cockpit resource management (CRM) and reduced the likelihood of detecting the unsafe condition.
Probable Cause
The probable causes, as stated by the investigation, are:
- Propeller blade strike against the runway surface during a landing attempt with the landing gear retracted, due to failure to comply with normal operational procedures established in the pre-landing checklist.
- Weakness in the operator's operational and safety processes, including lack of risk analysis for the López de Micay runway and insufficient supervision in flight planning and monitoring.
The contributing factor was the crew's overconfidence and attention focused on the location of the runway, which weakened cockpit CRM and the ability to verify an undesirable condition during the operation.