# NTSB CEN25LA185: Cessna 401, N3239Q, Arlington, TX, May 22, 2025 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: May 22, 2025, 12:41 local (17:41 UTC) - Place: Arlington, TX - Coordinates: 32.663861, -97.094278 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.6639&lon=-97.0943&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing gear not configured](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/095) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA- North Texas FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 200214 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN25LA185 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/200214/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=200214 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN25LA185 ## Probable cause The failure of the left landing gear system and subsequent intentional gear up landing. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Landing gear system: main landing gear](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023210): Aircraft › Aircraft systems · Failure; cases with it: [Cessna 401, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023210/cases.md?model=207590C), [All aircraft, 241 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023210/cases.md) - [Landing gear system: main gear strut/axle/truck](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023213): Aircraft › Aircraft systems · Failure (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 401, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023213/cases.md?model=207590C), [All aircraft, 86 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023213/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing gear not configured](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/095) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 401, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/095/sequence.md?model=207590C), [All aircraft, 584 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/095/sequence.md) ## Analysis According to the pilot, the airplane had undergone extensive maintenance and an annual inspection before being flown for the first time in about 25 years. During the third traffic pattern, the “left landing gear broke and necessitated a gear up landing.” The pilot landed the airplane with the landing gear retracted which resulted in substantial damage to the lower fuselage. According to the pilot, the left landing gear strut over extended and jammed itself into the wheel well. Additionally, he reported that the left main landing gear bell crank was fractured which appeared to have possibly been damaged during a previous gear-up landing in 1998. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N3239Q](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3239Q), registered now, S/N 401-0039, built 1967 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 401 - Registry model: [Cessna 401](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-401) (registry code 207590C) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (registry code 17032, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 401-0039 - Year built: 1967 - Airframe hours: 5193.4 - Engines: Continental TSIO-520 300 horsepower reciprocating; Continental TSIO-520 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Flight test, Part 91 - Registered owner: Russell William G - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, May 20, 2025 - Destination: Same as departure - Airport: GKY, Arlington Muni, runway 16/34, 6,080 × 100 ft, concrete - Equipment: Stall warning system, ADS-B ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 62; injuries: none; airline transport; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; last flight review May 1, 2024; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 5,000 total, 1 in this make and model, 3,000 as pilot in command, 75 in the last 90 days, 52 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 110° at 9 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 88 °F, dew point 72 °F - Altimeter: 29.97 inHg - Observed at: KGKY - METAR: KGKY 221753Z 11009KT 10SM CLR 31/22 A2997 RMK AO2 SLP140 T03060222 10306 20217 58012,M ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20250522006249A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250522006249A), May 22, 2025: Cessna 401, Arlington, TX, Substantial damage. On may 22, 2025 at approximately 1242 local time, [privacy data omitted] operated by PIC [privacy data omitted] conducted a gear up landing at kgky. [privacy… ## Other investigations on N3239Q (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB FTW98LA389](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98LA389), Sep 4, 1998: Cessna 401 (N3239Q), Lancaster, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadvertent retraction of the landing gear while intending to retract the flaps. A factor was the pilots lack of total experience in the type of aircraft. ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 5, 2025, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=200214. 2.4 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 10 pages, 1.7 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19134336&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=6120%20N3239Q_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Investigation photographs (item 2, PDF, 3 pages, 754 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19139020&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photo%20Array%20CEN25LA185-Rel.pdf From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.