Wheels up landing involving a Cessna 210K, VH-ERH, Punmu (ALA), Western Australia, on 23 October 1995

The pilot reported that he started the pre-landing checks as he joined the circuit and not on the downwind leg which is where he would normally start them. He selected full flap earlier than normal on the base leg and checked the throttle was at idle because the aircraft was not descending as quickly as he expected. He could not work out why. At no stage did the landing gear warning horn sound. After he flared the aircraft for the landing the propeller began to strike the runway, and the aircraft settled onto its fuselage. It slid to a stop to one side of the runway. The pilot indicated that he had forgotten to select the gear down prior to landing and had not noticed the lack of gear indications during his checks.

The pilot further advised that the gear warning horn had been reported as unserviceable on previous flights and although he had been told that it had been repaired it was apparently still unserviceable.

One factor often identified during inadvertent wheels-up accidents is the interruption of the pre-landing checks, usually because they have been started too early and the pilot is not ready to extend the gear when he gets to that item on the list. Universally recommended practice is to restart the checks from the beginning if they have been interrupted for any reason. The pilot in this accident reported that he had started his checks early and had stopped at the gear item.