Investigation number
199603897
Occurrence date
State
Western Australia
Report release date
Report status
Final
Investigation type
Occurrence Investigation
Investigation status
Completed
Aviation occurrence category
Wheels up landing
Occurrence class
Accident

The pilot reported that he selected the landing gear down on the downwind leg. He did not complete his pre-landing checks because he was distracted by his attempt to identify the wind direction from a damaged wind sock. He did not realise the landing gear was still retracted until the aircraft had touched down on its lower fuselage. The landing gear warning horn did not activate until it was too late to do anything about it. The aircraft slid to a stop on the runway. A passenger later observed that he did not see the orange unsafe landing gear light at any stage. Investigation found that the landing gear selector was in the down position, the circuit breaker was popped and the main gear uplocks had been released

Aircraft Details
Manufacturer
Piper Aircraft Corp
Model
PA-30
Registration
VH-CLJ
Sector
Piston
Departure point
Mt James WA
Destination
Gascoyne Junction WA
Damage
Substantial