- Date
- June 24, 2025, 11:21 local (16:21 UTC)
- Place
- Ashland, WI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8817PPiper PA-24-260
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing gear not configured
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 26, 2025
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA MKE FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250624007229A
- Case key
- 200391
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 extend the landing gear before landing and his failure to conduct the before landing checklist.
Findings · 3
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 the flight was a local sightseeing flight with a passenger. They departed the pilot’s home base airport and flew at a lower level than normal for sightseeing purposes. They planned to land at another airport for lunch and due to the low level of the flight the pilot’s normal routine was disrupted and he did not perform his normal pre-landing checks. He stated that the landing was normal until the propeller blades struck the runway. After the airplane slid to a stop, he realized that he had not placed the landing gear selector in the “down” position. He stated that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8817P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-260
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-4273
- Built
- 1965
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- ARV · Woodruff, WI
- Destination
- ASX · Ashland, WI
- Airport
- ASX · John F Kennedy Meml, runway 13/31, 3,498 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 76
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 6,000 total · 2,500 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.23 inHg
- Observed at
- KASX
- METAR
- KASX 241553Z AUTO 02008KT 10SM CLR 20/11 A3023 RMK AO2 SLP238 T02000111
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 26, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 392 KB 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.