What happened
On the day of the accident, an aircraft departed from Arusha Airport (ARK) at 12:35 for a series of circuit training maneuvers. The flight was being conducted under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) with a crew consisting of one instructor and one trainee pilot, alongside three passengers. The training plan involved nine touch-and-go operations using varying flap settings.
After successfully completing the first six circuits, the instructor directed the trainee to perform a flapless approach to runway 09, extending the approach to a six-mile final. During the descent, the instructor noted the aircraft was flying too low and instructed the trainee to adjust the approach. As the aircraft, registration 5H-PAB, stabilized on the glide path, the instructor instructed the trainee to set the propellers to full coarse pitch. Due to the high airspeed associated with the flapless configuration, the instructor warned the trainee to manage the flare carefully to prevent the tail skid from contacting the runway.
Upon attempting the flare, the tail skid struck the ground, followed by the belly and the underside of the nose. The Cessna aircraft slid for 164 meters along the runway before coming to a stop with the engines still operational. The instructor performed emergency shutdown procedures and evacuated the occupants. There were zero fatalities and zero injuries reported. The crew did not realize the gear was retracted until after the touchdown had occurred.
Findings
Investigations into the incident revealed that the landing gear was not extended because the instructor was preoccupied with monitoring the descent rate and managing the flapless flare. The trainee pilot also reported being overly focused on the technical aspects of the flight, which led to him forgetting to call for the gear deployment. While a checklist was being utilized for the initial six landings, it was not used during the final approach. Additionally, neither pilot reported hearing the landing gear warning horn during the approach.