What happened
On 21 October 2009, a Piper PA-23-160, registration G-APFV, was conducting a private flight from Stavanger, Norway, to Longside Airfield in Aberdeenshire. During the descent, the aircraft transitioned from instrument flight rules to visual flight rules as it cleared cloud layers. As the pilot approached Runway 10, the aircraft required high power to maintain the necessary approach angle.
As the aircraft neared the runway, the landing gear warning horn sounded. Shortly before touchdown, the propeller tips made contact with the runway surface. The aircraft subsequently settled on the retracted landing gear, which protrudes from the nacelles, and came to a stop approximately 230 metres after the initial propeller impact. The pilot successfully shut down the fuel and electrical systems and exited the aircraft without injury.
The investigation
The investigation established that the pilot had delayed the extension of the flaps and landing gear. While the pilot had confirmed that the flaps were fully extended before turning onto the right-hand base leg, he had not verified the position of the landing gear. The pilot noted that because the speed required for landing was higher than his usual landing speed for the flaps, he had incorrectly assumed the gear was down.
Findings
- The aircraft landed with the landing gear in the retracted position.
- The pilot failed to confirm the landing gear position indicators on short final.
- The pilot's failure to verify the gear position was compounded by a reliance on habit-based assumptions.
- The landing gear warning horn provided a distraction during the approach.
- The pilot's recollection of having selected the gear down was not supported by the actual configuration of the aircraft.