What happened
On 16 May 2007, a Rockwell Commander 112, registration G-BDLT, was conducting private flight operations at Exeter Airport, Devon. The aircraft, carrying a pilot and two passengers, was performing a series of circuits prior to a planned departure for Berry Head. The first circuit was completed successfully.
During the second circuit, the pilot was instructed by Air Traffic Control to orbit to the right at the start of the downwind leg. Following several orbits, the pilot requested and received clearance for a full-stop landing. However, the aircraft subsequently made a landing with the landing gear in the retracted position. The impact caused damage to the propeller, the exhaust, and the nose cowling, and resulted in the wear of both steps. There were no injuries to the occupants, and the aircraft was evacuated without fire.
The investigation
Investigators examined the sequence of events leading to the landing and the cockpit environment. It was determined that the pilot had begun the landing checks during the initial downwind leg of the second circuit, just as the instruction to orbit was issued. The subsequent interruption of these checks contributed to the oversight.
While the aircraft was equipped with a warning horn designed to sound if the landing gear remained unextended while the throttle was closed and flaps were extended beyond 15 degrees, the pilot did not react to the alert. The investigation established that the pilot was wearing noise-cancelling headphones at the time, which prevented him from hearing the warning. The functionality of the horn was confirmed as serviceable during the recovery operation, as it sounded when electrical power was reapplied to the aircraft.
Findings
- The pilot omitted to lower the landing gear due to the interruption of the downwind leg checks caused by ATC instructions to orbit.
- The pilot's use of noise-cancelling headphones prevented the detection of the landing gear warning horn.