- Date
- February 15, 2023, 15:20 local (21:20 UTC)
- Place
- Cahokia, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7681FPiper PA-34-200T
- Defining event
- Landing: Landing gear not configured
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20230215002659A
- Case key
- 106759
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to extent the landing gear before landing.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that he was performing touch and go landings. On the fourth traffic pattern, the controller requested that he turn inside of the airplane that was on final approach. The pilot stated that he delayed extending the landing gear until he turned the airplane onto the final approach leg. After he reduced the airspeed, he selected flaps and extended the landing gear. During the landing, the pilot “heard the sound of metal” and realized that the landing gear was not extended. The pilot reported that when he moved the landing gear handle, he did not see the unsafe landing gear warning light, nor was there a landing gear warning horn. The airplane sustained damage to the lower fuselage. The mechanic that recovered the airplane after the accident reported that the landing gear extended normally, and the landing gear warning horn was audible. Further, the pilot reported to the responding inspector that he had just forgot to extend the landing gear.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7681F
- Reported as
- Piper PA-34-200T
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 34-7770066
- Built
- 1976
- Airframe hours
- 4,982
- Engines
- Teledyne TSIO360E2B, 200 hp, reciprocatingTeledyne LTSIO360E2B, 200 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 14, 2022
- Departed
- KCPS · Cahokia, IL
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- KCPS · St Louis Downtown Parks, runway 30L / 12R, 7,002 × 150 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Onboard weather, Stall warning system, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, ADS-B, Angle of attack indicator, Auto-pilot
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 69
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 5, 2021
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,854 total · 1,059 in this make and model · 1,711 as pilot in command · 15 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.91 inHg
- Observed at
- KCPS
- METAR
- KCPS 152053Z 33003KT 10SM CLR 16/04 A2991 RMK AO2 SLP126 T01560039 57002
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 8, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.4 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.