What happened
On 19 October 1999, a Piper PA-23-250, registration G-WSFT, was conducting a training flight at Bristol (Filton) airfield. The flight was focused on circuit training to improve the student pilot's handling and visual manoeuvring skills using Runway 09. At the time of the incident, weather conditions were clear with a surface wind from 060° to 070° at 20 knots.
During the approach, the student pilot was struggling to maintain the required standard for visual circuits, specifically regarding the correct final approach path. As the aircraft approached the runway, the landing gear was not selected to the down position. The aircraft touched down at the beginning of the runway and subsequently slewed to the right, coming to a halt on the paved surface to the right of the runway centreline. The two crew members, the instructor and the student, exited the aircraft via the main door without injury.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of cockpit actions leading to the touchdown. It was established that the student pilot failed to extend the landing gear prior to landing. The instructor, who had been on duty for 8 hours and had received 14 hours of rest prior to the flight, did not notice the omission. The investigation noted that the instructor's failure to verify the gear configuration was due to a combination of fatigue and distraction.
Damage to the aircraft included substantial damage to the propellers due to shock loading to the engines, as well as minor damage to the antennas and the landing gear door footstep.