- Date
- November 25, 2025, 22:30 local (Nov 26, 2025, 03:30 UTC)
- Place
- Eastman, GA
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N441HGPiper PA-44-180
- Defining event
- Landing: Landing gear not configured
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report May 21, 2026
- 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
- 20251125019939A
- Case key
- 202071
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 flight instructors 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 flight instructor reported that following multiple takeoffs and landings, he failed to extend the landing gear during a full stop landing. The airplane subsequently landed with the landing gear retracted and slid to the left of the runway centerline before coming to rest, which resulted in substantial damage to the lower fuselage. The flight instructor stated that the landing gear warning horn did not activate before the gear up landing. A postaccident examination of the landing gear system did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N441HG
- Reported as
- Piper PA-44-180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4496003
- Built
- 1995
- Airframe hours
- 5,378.7
- Engines
- Lycoming O-360-a1h6, 180 horsepower, reciprocatingLycoming O-360-A1H6, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Georgia Aviation Authority
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 29, 2025 · 41 hours before
- Departed
- SGL · St. Augustine, FL
- Destination
- EZM · Eastman, GA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- EZM · Heart Of Georgia Rgnl, runway 20, 6,506 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Auto-pilot, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display
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
- 22
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Private, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 15, 2025
- Seat
- Rear
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 854 total · 66.3 in this make and model · 752.2 as pilot in command · 318.54 in the last 90 days · 91.6 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot-rated passenger
- Age
- 24
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 25, 2025
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 406.6 total · 14.8 in this make and model · 311.8 as pilot in command · 28 in the last 90 days · 21.9 in the last 30 days · 5.6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 210° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- EZM
- METAR
- METAR KEZM 260435Z AUTO 21006KT 10SM CLR 20/16 A3007 RMK AO2
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 21, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.0 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.