- Date
- March 1, 2024, 14:34 local (19:34 UTC)
- Place
- Zephyrhills, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N15529Piper PA-34-200
- 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
- 20240301004069A
- Case key
- 193895
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 landing gear before touchdown, which resulted in a gear-up landing.
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
According to the pilot, he was landing at his home airport where multiple runways were in use and multiple airplanes were operating in the traffic pattern. The pilot stated that his “pre-landing checklist got interrupted checking for traffic” and he completed the landing with the landing gear retracted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the underside of the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. During recovery of the airplane, the landing gear operated normally when the landing gear handle was placed in the down position.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N15529
- Reported as
- Piper PA-34-200
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 34-7350072
- Built
- 1972
- Airframe hours
- 5,029
- Engines
- Lycoming IO-360-C1E6, 200 hp, reciprocatingLycoming IO-360-C1E6, 200 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 17, 2023
- Departed
- KBOW · Bartow, FL
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- ZPH · Zephyrhills Muni, runway 05/23, 5,001 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Onboard weather, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, ADS-B, Stall warning system
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
- 36
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,200 total · 300 in this make and model · 1,200 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 10 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.18 inHg
- Observed at
- KZPH
- METAR
- METAR KZPH 011935Z AUTO 13010G14KT 10SM SCT042 BKN055 OVC090 28/17 A3018 RMK A02 T02790172
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 10, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.1 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.