History of the Flight
On 30 June 2008 at 1515 UTC, a Piper PA-32R-300 Cherokee Lance (registration N38945) was operating on a private flight from North Weald Airfield, Essex, with a sole pilot. The pilot had completed two touch-and-go landings and was climbing into the circuit for a third landing. On the downwind leg, there was another aircraft ahead; the pilot of that aircraft asked the air/ground operator for the position of other traffic. The operator reported that the traffic was behind him, and the pilot of N38945 followed with a "downwind" call and then carried out his downwind checks.
The pilot stated that he normally lowers the landing gear abeam the numbers on the downwind leg, then turns base and selects two stages of flap. On final, he selects the third stage of flaps and checks "reds, blues and three greens." When established on final, the air/ground operator reported the wind and the position of the aircraft ahead. The pilot did not hear the position report and asked for it to be repeated. He then reported final and started to slow the aircraft.
During the flare, he realised that something was wrong when he heard a scraping noise from underneath the aircraft. He looked down at the gear lever and saw that the lever was selected down but the three green lights were out. The aircraft slid on its underside and then veered to the right, coming to rest in the grass area to the side of the runway.
Damage
The aircraft sustained damage to the propeller, flaps, pitot tube, and wing/fuselage underside. An engineering company at the airfield examined the aircraft after the accident and reported that they did not find a fault with the landing gear system.
Pilot Information
The pilot, aged 50, held a Private Pilot's Licence and had 392 hours total flying experience, of which 155 hours were on type. In the last 90 days he had flown 18 hours, and in the last 28 days, 14 hours.
Probable Cause
The pilot believed that he had selected the gear lever down but then became distracted and may not have checked for 'three greens'.