What happened
On 28 May 2001, a Gardan GY80-160D, registration G-BKNI, was conducting a private flight from Ostend, Belgium, to Bourn Airfield in Cambridgeshire. Upon arriving at the airfield, the pilot encountered surface winds of 10-15 knots from 300 degrees, with good visibility and scattered clouds at 3,000 feet.
During the initial approach to Runway 24, the pilot observed that a parked car was obstructing the undershoot area. Consequently, the pilot performed a go-around. As part of the standard procedure for this maneuver, the pilot retracted the landing gear. The aircraft then circled to approach Runway 01.
As the aircraft entered the landing flare while maintaining a level attitude, the propeller made contact with the asphalt runway surface. Following the impact, the pilot shut off the fuel and magnetos, and both the pilot and the passenger safely exited the aircraft. Upon exiting, the pilot discovered that the landing gear had remained in the retracted position.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report submitted by the pilot. The examination established that the aircraft sustained damage to the propeller and the engine suffered a shock load. The investigation focused on the sequence of events following the initial go-around and the pilot's failure to verify the aircraft configuration before the second approach.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the pilot's failure to notice the landing gear warning light during the approach to Runway 01.
- The landing gear remained retracted following the go-around procedure initiated on the previous approach to Runway 24.