What happened
On 31 July 2025, at 12:10 local time, a Lancair 200 landed wheels up at Aldinga Aerodrome, South Australia after a short flight from Murray Bridge Aerodrome, South Australia. The pilot and passenger on board were uninjured.
After joining the circuit at Aldinga Aerodrome, the pilot identified that they were 100 ft below the normal circuit height while turning downwind. The pilot decided not to lower the landing gear at that time to allow a faster climb back to circuit height.
Once they regained circuit height, the pilot continued their landing sequence but forgot to extend the landing gear. During the final approach check, the pilot checked the mixture and propeller but did not detect that the ‘three green’ landing gear indication lights were not illuminated, which indicated the landing gear had not been extended. The aircraft was also fitted with a bright amber warning light that illuminates when the landing gear is up, the flaps are down, and the aircraft is below 800 ft above the ground as determined by GPS. The pilot reported that bright sun glare may have hindered their perception of the LED undercarriage lights and the warning light on the panel.
The aircraft touched down smoothly on the runway and gradually slid from the tarmac to the grass verge where it came to rest after travelling about 100 m after contact with the runway (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Aircraft skidding off the runway
Source: Darren Campbell Photography
The pilot radioed their position to a following aircraft; in response this aircraft went around. Once stopped, the pilot shut down the aircraft master, switches and fuel before ordering the evacuation.
Nil injuries and minimal damage were reported.
Safety action
The pilot reported that once the aircraft is repaired, they will add an audible warning alert to help reinforce the visual indication of the landing gear.
Safety message
Normal limitations of human memory make it difficult to ‘remember to remember’ to perform future tasks (such as extending the landing gear) if not prompted by a salient cue.
Pilots must ensure that all pre-landing checklists are carried out systematically as detailed in the flight manual. If interrupted, it is best practice to start again from the beginning to ensure that nothing is missed.
About this report
Decisions regarding whether to conduct an investigation, and the scope of an investigation, are based on many factors, including the level of safety benefit likely to be obtained from an investigation. For this occurrence, no investigation has been conducted and the ATSB did not verify the accuracy of the information. A brief description has been written using information supplied in the notification and any follow-up information in order to produce a short summary report, and allow for greater industry awareness of potential safety issues and possible safety actions.