- Date
- June 10, 2007, 17:51 local (22:51 UTC)
- Place
- Madison, MS
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N987MDPiper PA-24-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 25, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Jackson, Mississippi
- FAA report
- 20070610019389A
- Case key
- 65944
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 prior to landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot failed to extend the landing gear and the airplane landed gear-up. The 7,576-hour private pilot informed local police and the NTSB that he "simply forgot" to extend the landing gear prior to landing on the 4444-foot-long, by 75-foot wide asphalt runway. The single-engine airplane landed on its belly and skidded to a stop before a fire erupted. The pilot and his passenger were able to egress the airplane and were not injured. The pilot, who reported having accumulated 6,626-hours in the same make and model, reported that he did not recall hearing the sound of the landing gear horn prior to touchdown and suspected the horn may have not worked. Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed that the airplane sustained extensive post impact fire damage, and the landing gear handle was found in the retracted position. The accident occurred at the conclusion of a 45 minute cross-country flight.
Factual narrative
The pilot failed to extend the landing gear and the airplane landed gear-up. The 7,576-hour private pilot informed local police and the NTSB that he "simply forgot" to extend the landing gear prior to landing on the 4444-foot-long, by 75-foot wide asphalt runway. The single-engine airplane landed on its belly and skidded to a stop before a fire erupted. The pilot and his passenger were able to egress the airplane and were not injured. The pilot, who reported having accumulated 6,626-hours in the same make and model, reported that he did not recall hearing the sound of the landing gear horn prior to touchdown and suspected the horn may have not worked. Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed that the airplane sustained extensive post impact fire damage, and the landing gear handle was found in the retracted position. The accident occurred at the conclusion of a 45 minute cross-country flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N987MD
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 21-1107
- Airframe hours
- 6,681.75
- Engine
- Lycoming 2D36C28, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Dr. Curtis Caine
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 1, 2007 · 24.91 hours before
- Departed
- STF · Starkville, MS
- Destination
- MBO · Madison, MS
- Airport
- MBO · Bruce Campbell Field, runway 35, 4,444 × 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
- 85
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 1, 2006
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 7,576 total · 6,626 in this make and model · 7,576 as pilot in command · 11 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.01 inHg
- Observed at
- MBO
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.