Occurrence
On Saturday, 28 January 2023 at 1215Z, a pilot flying a Cessna 210 with registration ZS-LAP departed from a private farm in Malelane, Mpumalanga province, for Wonderboom Aerodrome (FAWB) in Gauteng province. The flight was conducted under Part 91 of the South African Civil Aviation Regulations in visual meteorological conditions by day.
Upon entering the FAWB airspace, the pilot performed pre-landing checks and lowered the landing gear. While on approach, air traffic control requested the pilot to orbit to allow another aircraft to land ahead. During the orbit, the pilot retracted the landing gear. When returning for landing on Runway 29, the pilot forgot to extend the gear again. The pilot reported hearing the landing warning horn but determined it was too late to go around or lower the gear. The aircraft landed on its belly and scraped along the runway before stopping.
The Airport Rescue and Firefighting team responded and applied firefighting foam to prevent a possible fire. The pilot disembarked unassisted and was uninjured. Damage was limited to the bottom fuselage.
Aircraft Information
The aircraft was a Cessna 210, serial number 210-64078. The Certificate of Airworthiness was issued on 7 August 2013 with an expiry date of 31 August 2023. The Certificate of Registration was issued to the current owner on 11 June 2019. The last 100-hour maintenance periodic inspection was certified on 8 February 2022 at 8302.2 airframe hours; the aircraft had flown 37 hours since that inspection. The total airframe time was 8339.2 hours.
Pilot Information
The pilot held a Private Pilot Licence reissued on 31 August 2022 with a validity until 31 August 2024, and a valid Class 2 medical certificate issued on 3 August 2022. The pilot had accumulated 246.63 total flying hours, of which 9.1 hours were on the Cessna 210 type. All 9.1 hours on type were flown in the past 90 days.
Probable Cause
The pilot forgot to lower the landing gear, resulting in the aircraft landing on its belly.