- Date
- May 12, 2015, 21:20 local (May 13, 2015, 03:20 UTC)
- Place
- Crownpoint, NM
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N811VMPilatus PC12 - 45
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing gear not configured
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report July 8, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20150512006649A
- Case key
- 91203
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 stated that after the airplane crossed the runway threshold, he reduced engine power to idle and the gear warning horn sounded. The pilot reported that he misinterpreted the gear warning horn for the ground proximity warning system and the airplane landed with the gear retracted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the spar carry-through structure and left spar attachment. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that after the airplane crossed the runway threshold, he reduced engine power to idle and the gear warning horn sounded. The pilot reported that he misinterpreted the gear warning horn for the ground proximity warning system and the airplane landed with the gear retracted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the spar carry-through structure and left spar attachment. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N811VM
- Reported as
- Pilatus PC12 - 45 (45)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 316
- Built
- 2000
- Airframe hours
- 6,703
- Engine
- Pratt and Whitney PT6A-67B, 1,200 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- Valley Med Flight, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Med Flight Leasing, LLC.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · March 17, 2015
- Departed
- GUP · Gallup, NM
- Destination
- 0E8 · Crownpoint, NM
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- 0E8 · Crownpoint, runway 18, 5,820 × 60 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Onboard weather, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, Angle of attack indicator, 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
- 39
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 27, 2015
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 4,439 total · 42 in this make and model · 4,301 as pilot in command · 226 in the last 90 days · 41 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 230° at 14 knots, gusting 21
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- KGUP, 32 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 1, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.2 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.