- Date
- January 26, 2010, 17:50 local (23:50 UTC)
- Place
- Memphis, TN
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N850VMSocata TBM 700
- Defining event
- Landing: Landing gear not configured
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report June 17, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20100126027219A
- Case key
- 75338
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.
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 pilot stated that he was approaching his destination airport near dusk, and wanted to land before it was dark. The pilot forgot to lower the landing gear and the airplane touched down with the landing gear in the retracted position, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage skin, stringers, and wing attach fittings. The airplane was equipped with a landing gear configuration warning, which activated during landing; however, the pilot mistook it for a different warning indicator. The pilot further stated that he normally used a pre-landing checklist, but was distracted by the deteriorating weather conditions and did not utilize it. The pilot reported 3,079 hours of total flight experience, which included 50 hours in the same make and model as the accident airplane.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that he was approaching his destination airport near dusk, and wanted to land before it was dark. The pilot forgot to lower the landing gear and the airplane touched down with the landing gear in the retracted position, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage skin, stringers, and wing attach fittings. The airplane was equipped with a landing gear configuration warning, which activated during landing; however, the pilot mistook it for a different warning indicator. The pilot further stated that he normally used a pre-landing checklist, but was distracted by the deteriorating weather conditions and did not utilize it. The pilot reported 3,079 hours of total flight experience, which included 50 hours in the same make and model as the accident airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N850VM
- Reported as
- Socata TBM 700
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 507
- Airframe hours
- 116
- Engine
- P&W PT6A66D, 850 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- FXE · Ft Lauderdale, FL
- Destination
- M01 · Memphis, TN
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- M01 · General Dewitt Spain, runway 35, 3,800 × 75 ft, asphalt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 57
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 22, 2009
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,079 total · 50 in this make and model · 2,815 as pilot in command · 57 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 320° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 39 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.21 inHg
- Observed at
- MEM, 9 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 16, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 402 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.