What happened
On the morning of 1 August 2021, a Piper 24-250 aircraft, registered ZS-WBM, departed from Aviators Paradise Aerodrome in Gauteng for a private flight. The pilot intended to land at Silver Creek Airfield near Mooinooi. During the final approach to Runway 08, the pilot failed to deploy the landing gear. As a result, the aircraft made contact with the runway on its underbelly. While there were no injuries to the sole occupant, the impact caused substantial damage to the propeller blades and the lower fuselage structure.
The investigation
The investigation into the incident focused on the mechanical state of the aircraft and the sequence of the landing. Records indicated that the aircraft had undergone a periodic maintenance inspection less than a month prior to the event, with only 29 flight hours accumulated since that check. Prior to the accident, there were no documented mechanical defects. Following the event, an aircraft maintenance engineer performed a visual inspection and conducted retraction tests while the aircraft was on jacks; these tests confirmed that the landing gear mechanism was fully functional and operating as intended.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was the pilot's failure to lower the landing gear prior to touchdown.
- The aircraft's landing gear system was found to be in proper working order.
- No pre-existing mechanical defects contributed to the gear remaining retracted.