- Date
- July 15, 2025, 16:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Melbourne, AR
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N935ERPiper PA-44-180
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing gear not configured
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 14, 2025
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250715009649A
- Case key
- 200559
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 flight crew’s failure to use the airplane pre-landing checklist and failure to extend the airplane’s 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 flight instructor and the student were conducting a simulated single engine approach to landing when the accident occurred. During the landing approach, the flight instructor was monitoring other aircraft traffic in the area, and the student asked the instructor a question, which distracted the instructor from performing his normal prelanding checks and verifying that the airplane’s retractable landing gear was extended. As the approach continued, neither the student nor flight instructor noticed that the landing gear was not extended. The airplane landed with the landing gear in the retracted position. The airplane received substantial damage to the structural external longerons on the bottom of the fuselage. As a result of the accident, the flight school implemented additional training for instructors and students regarding checklist usage and additional crew procedures have been implemented to verify landing gear extension prior to landing. Additionally, the review of the accident will be included in future safety meetings.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N935ER
- Reported as
- Piper PA-44-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4496195
- Built
- 2005
- Airframe hours
- 8,857
- Engines
- Lycoming O-360-A1H6, 180 horsepower, reciprocatingLycoming LO-360-A1H6, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Ozarka College
- Registered owner
- Christiansen Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 30, 2025 · 64 hours before
- Airport
- 42A · Melbourne Muni/John E Miller Fld, runway 03/21, 4,003 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Onboard weather, Stall warning system, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, ADS-B
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 22
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- July 13, 2024
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,386 total · 108 in this make and model · 1,266 as pilot in command · 129 in the last 90 days · 34 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 20
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 6, 2025
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 317 total · 23 in this make and model · 182 as pilot in command · 37 in the last 90 days · 16 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.98 inHg
- Observed at
- KBVX, 23 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KBVX 152056Z AUTO 23009KT 10SM FEW100 31/24 A2998 RMK AO2 LTG DSNT S SLP149 T03060239 55012=
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 14, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 12.4 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.