- Date
- February 4, 2024, 16:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Abingdon, VA
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N756ZWCessna R182
- Defining event
- Landing: Abnormal runway contact
- 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
- 20240204000639A
- Case key
- 193756
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 lower the airplane's landing gear prior to landing, which resulted in abnormal runway contact.
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
During a youth demonstration flight, the pilot became distracted looking for another airplane in the traffic pattern and sharing information with the young passengers. He subsequently forgot to lower the landing gear, and the airplane landed gear up, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident anomalies or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation and added that he heard no cockpit warnings since he was wearing a noise cancelling headset.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N756ZW
- Reported as
- Cessna R182
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- R18201208
- Built
- 1979
- Airframe hours
- 4,619
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-J3C5D, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 4, 2023 · 67.2 hours before
- Airport
- VJI · Virginia Highlands, runway 06, 4,471 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Auto-pilot, 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
- 61
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 11, 2023
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 15,047 total · 375 in this make and model · 14,684 as pilot in command · 184 in the last 90 days · 45 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 100° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.81 inHg
- Observed at
- VJI
- METAR
- KVJI 042135Z AUTO 10009KT 10SM CLR 13/M06 A2981 RMK AO2 T01321060
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 4, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.2 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.