- Date
- April 18, 2023, 19:20 local (23:20 UTC)
- Place
- St. Augustine, FL
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N751WWPiper PA-30
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing gear not configured
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20230418004059A
- Case key
- 107155
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 reported that as he entered the airport environment for landing, while on about a 3-mile final approach, the air traffic control tower controller instructed him to perform a left 360° turn. The pilot completed the turn, and the controller cleared him to continue the approach and land. As the pilot continued the final approach to land, the sun was in his eyes, and he noticed two objects on the runway. He inquired the tower about what was on the runway, but before the controller could respond, he identified the objects as two F-18 fighter aircraft departing. Subsequently, during the landing flare he heard “gear gear gear” over the radio and then touched down with the landing gear retracted. The airplane skidded to a stop on the runway. The fuselage sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that he omitted completing his mental landing checklist of “gear, propeller, mixture, pumps, speed, stable.” The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N751WW
- Reported as
- Piper PA-30 (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 30-1449
- Built
- 1967
- Airframe hours
- 6,904
- Engines
- Lycoming IO-320-B1A, 160 horsepower, reciprocatingLycoming IO-320-B1A, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 21, 2022
- Departed
- SFB · Orlando, FL
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- SGJ · Northeast Florida Regional Airport, runway 31, 8,001 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, Angle of attack indicator, Stall warning system, 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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 46
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Last flight review
- February 25, 2023
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 11,202 total · 220 in this make and model · 5,760 as pilot in command · 142 in the last 90 days · 45 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- SGJ
- METAR
- KSGJ 182356Z 04005KT 10SM 19/11 A3004 RMK AO2 SLP172 T01940106 10222 20194 53006 $
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 27, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 7.3 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.