- Date
- March 24, 2015, 16:45 local (20:45 UTC)
- Place
- Siler City, NC
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N93715Bellanca 17 31A
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing gear not configured
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 11, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20150324004639A
- Case key
- 90943
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 ensure that the airplane's landing gear was down and locked prior to touchdown.
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
During a ferry flight, while turning from downwind leg to base leg of the airport traffic pattern, the pilot became distracted when the cabin door popped open. The pilot continued on the approach and prior to touchdown, advanced the propeller rpm, set the mixture to full rich, and put the flaps down. As he reduced the throttle he heard a horn and thought it was the stall warning horn, but afterwards believed it probably was the gear warning horn, as they sounded somewhat similar. He did not think anything about it as he normally hears the stall horn at touchdown. He stated that he felt like the approach was a little faster than normal and he reduced the power to help to try to slow down. At touchdown he realized that he had not selected gear down. The airplane landed on its belly and when it came to a stop, there was smoke in the cockpit. Then when the pilot exited the cabin and stepped out on the wing to exit the airplane, he noticed flames on the aft side of the right wing. The airplane was subsequently destroyed by a postcrash fire.
Factual narrative
During a ferry flight, while turning from downwind leg to base leg of the airport traffic pattern, the pilot became distracted when the cabin door popped open. The pilot continued on the approach and prior to touchdown, advanced the propeller rpm, set the mixture to full rich, and put the flaps down. As he reduced the throttle he heard a horn and thought it was the stall warning horn, but afterwards believed it probably was the gear warning horn, as they sounded somewhat similar. He did not think anything about it as he normally hears the stall horn at touchdown. He stated that he felt like the approach was a little faster than normal and he reduced the power to help to try to slow down. At touchdown he realized that he had not selected gear down. The airplane landed on its belly and when it came to a stop, there was smoke in the cockpit. Then when the pilot exited the cabin and stepped out on the wing to exit the airplane, he noticed flames on the aft side of the right wing. The airplane was subsequently destroyed by a postcrash fire.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N93715
- Reported as
- Bellanca 17 31A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 74-32-135
- Built
- 1973
- Airframe hours
- 1,356
- Engine
- Lycoming TI0-540-K1ES, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 2013 · 6 hours before
- Departed
- SCR · Apex, NC
- Destination
- SCR · Siler City, NC
- Airport
- SCR · Siler City Municipal Airport, runway 22, 5,000 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Auto-pilot
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
- 72
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 22, 2014
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,665 total · 1,100 in this make and model · 1,610 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.15 inHg
- Observed at
- SCR
Docket · 8
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 28, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 12.6 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.