- Date
- September 25, 2025, 11:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Henderson, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N388TWPiper PA46
- Defining event
- Landing: Landing gear not configured
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 23, 2025
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA North Texas FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250925014679A
- Case key
- 201722
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 main landing gear prior to landing, which resulted in a gear up landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s distraction during the approach.
Findings · 6
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
During the descent to the destination airport, the pilot noticed that another airplane had departed from the runway and was climbing to enter the traffic pattern. The pilot decided to extend his traffic pattern entry to visually observe the other airplane and to provide separation so he could land. During this time, the main landing gear warning horn activated due to the engine power reduction that occurred, and the pilot then activated the main landing gear warning horn mute switch. The other airplane performed a touch and go, the pilot forgot to extend the main landing gear, and the pilot proceeded to land the airplane. During the gear up landing to the dry asphalt runway, the airplane departed the runway to the right, impacted two runway signs, and came to rest upright on a flat grass field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the underside of the fuselage. The pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot further reported that he should have performed a final landing check on short final and that he allowed the avoidance of the other airplane to distract him from his normal landing procedures and flow.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N388TW
- Reported as
- Piper PA46 (500TP)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4697018
- Built
- 2000
- Airframe hours
- 2,375.5
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-42A, 850 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- TL Lobo Group
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 25, 2025 · 74.8 hours before
- Departed
- F46 · Rockwall, TX
- Destination
- RFI · Henderson, TX
- Airport
- RFI · Rusk County, runway 17/35, 4,005 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Electronic multifunction display, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Onboard weather
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
- 54
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Private, Remote
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 26, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 3,611.4 total · 1,070.5 in this make and model · 3,546.4 as pilot in command · 47.3 in the last 90 days · 4.3 in the last 30 days · 0.6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- KRFI, 1 nm away
- METAR
- KRFI 251555Z AUTO 35005KT 10SM CLR 28/18 A3007 RMK AO2 T02760176
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 23, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 21.6 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.