Incident Description
On 4 September 2004, a Cessna 172 RG, registration EC-HHX, departed from Talavera la Real Airport for a training flight in the Badajoz area. The aircraft carried a student and an instructor pilot. About fifteen minutes into the flight, the instructor observed abnormal indications of low oil pressure and high engine temperature, accompanied by irregular engine noise. Since they were near Morante Airfield, designated as an alternate in the flight plan, the instructor took control and decided to land to prevent a possible incident.
The crew performed the before descent and approach checklists. The instructor asked the student to execute the final checklist. While the instructor was flying the approach, he noticed that the landing gear was not down and locked when the fuselage struck the ground. He then attempted to keep the wings and nose from hitting the runway by deflecting the flight controls. The aircraft slowed, and eventually the nose and propeller contacted the ground. The aircraft veered slightly to the right and came to a stop. The crew secured the cockpit and evacuated.
Damage
The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage, propeller, and engine.
Pilot Information
The instructor held a commercial pilot license with 570 total flight hours, of which 101 hours and 20 minutes were on the accident aircraft type. In the 90 days prior, he had flown 81 hours and 20 minutes; 18 hours and 70 minutes in the last 30 days; and 5 hours and 90 minutes in the last 24 hours. He had rested for 13 hours and 20 minutes before the flight.
Probable Cause
The investigation concluded that the gear-up landing occurred because the crew failed to deploy the landing gear during the execution of the pre-landing procedures, specifically the final checklist.