- Date
- January 12, 2025, 14:25 local (19:25 UTC)
- Place
- Fairfield, NJ
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N711AVPiper PA44
- Defining event
- Landing: 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
- 20250112002729I
- Case key
- 199598
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 prior to landing, which resulted in a gear up landing. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision of the pilot receiving instruction.
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 an instructional flight, while approaching the runway to land, the flight instructor told the pilot receiving instruction to check that the landing gear had been extended. While the instructor handled radio transmissions and watched an aircraft that was still on the runway, the pilot receiving instruction performed the prelanding checklist but did not extend the landing gear. Due to the distraction of the radios and traffic on the runway, the instructor did not notice that the landing gear remained stowed. During the flare to land, both pilots realized the landing gear remained up and the airplane settled onto the runway with the landing gear retracted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage. Postaccident examination of the landing gear and landing gear position warning system revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N711AV
- Reported as
- Piper PA44 (180)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 44-7995215
- Built
- 1989
- Airframe hours
- 5,789
- Engines
- Lycoming O-360-A1H6, 180 horsepower, reciprocatingLycoming LO-360-A1H6, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Aa Aero Inc
- Registered owner
- Aa Aero Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 6, 2024
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- CDW · Essex County, runway 22, 4,552 × 80 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 31
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 21, 2024
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,516 total · 310 as pilot in command · 35 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Age
- 32
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 25, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,600 total · 430 as pilot in command · 25 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 41 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.99 inHg
- Observed at
- CDW
- METAR
- KCDW 121853Z 33006KT 10SM FEW043 05/M06 A2999 RMK AO2 SLP164 T00501056
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 22, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.8 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.
Other investigations on N711AV · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.