What happened
On July 30, 2001, at 11:59 local time, a Mooney M20J, registration EC-FFJ, was performing a solo instructional flight at Sabadell Airport (Barcelona). During the landing phase on runway 13, the student pilot failed to extend the landing gear. As a result, the aircraft impacted the runway on the lower fuselage. The aircraft slid approximately 150 meters along the runway before coming to a stop 500 meters from the runway threshold. Airport services were required to clear the aircraft, which necessitated a temporary closure of the runway to air traffic.
There were no fatalities or injuries to the pilot. However, the aircraft sustained substantial damage to the engine, propeller, and the entire underside of the fuselage.
The investigation
The investigation examined the aircraft's cockpit warning systems to determine why the pilot did not notice the gear was retracted. The Mooney M20J is equipped with several safety indicators:
- A color-coded light system using green for the "gear down" condition and red for an "unsafe" gear status.
- An acoustic warning horn that activates when the cockpit detects manifold pressure between 13 and 15 inches of mercury while the gear is not locked down.
- A visual position indicator located behind the fuel selector valve, which uses aligned markings to confirm the gear is down.
Despite these multi-layered alerts, the pilot did not identify the gear configuration prior to touchdown.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the pilot's failure to follow established landing procedures, specifically neglecting to verify that the landing gear was fully extended and locked before touchdown.