# Incident 20030803025989I: Beech A36, St Louis, MO, August 3, 2003

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 3, 2003, 16:45 local time
- Place: St Louis, MO
- Airport: Creve Coeur Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.7273° N, 90.5084° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at CREVE COEUR (1H0), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.7273&lon=-90.5084&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4640M (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: BEECH A36
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 19,874 total, 200 in this make and model, 17 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030803025989I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) THE LAST ATC CONTACT WITH THE AIRPLANE WAS BY SPIRIT OF SAINT LOUIS TOWER, WHICH CLEARED THE PILOT TO TRANSITION THEIR CLASS D AIRSPACE ENROUTE TO 1H0. THE AIRPLANE LANDED GEAR UP AT 1H0 AT APPROXIMATELY 2145Z. THE PILOT STATED HE DID NOT HAVE ANY MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE AIRPLANE AND THAT THE CAUSE OF THE GEAR UP LANDING WAS PURELY PILOT ERROR. THE PILOT STATED HE DID NOT LEAN OVER THE YOKE TO CHECK THE GEAR INDICATOR LIGHTS AND THAT WAS HIS BIG MISTAKE. THE GEAR SELECTOR SWITCH WAS BETWEEN THE UP AND THE DOWN POSITION. THE GEAR SELECTOR SWITCH IS DESIGNED WITH ONLY TWO POSITIONS, UP AND DOWN. TO MOVE FROM EITHER POSITION IT IS NECESSARY TO PULL THE HANDLE AND THEN MOVE IT TO THE OPPOSITE POSITION. THE SWITCH WAS FOUND IN A MIDDLE POSITION. APPARENTLY THE PILOT MOVED THE GEAR HANDLE, BUT DID NOT MOVE IT FULLY INTO THE DOWN POSITION. BY FAILING TO CHECK THE LIGHTS, THE STAGE WAS SET FOR THE INCIDENT. THEN, BY THE PILOT'S OWN ADMISSION, HE FAILED TO RECOGNIZE THE OTHER CLUES THAT SHOULD HAVE ALERETED HIM TO SOMETHING BEING AMISS (AIRCRAFT FLOATED A LONG WAY AND SEEMED TOO CLOSE TO THE GROUND). WHETHER THE GEAR WARNING HORN ACTIVATED OR NOT COULD NOT BE DETERMINED WITH CERTAINTY.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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