- Date
- September 21, 2016, 20:30 local (Sep 22, 2016, 01:30 UTC)
- Place
- East St. Louis, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N834PCNew Piper PA-28R
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing gear not configured
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Status
- Completed · report December 15, 2016
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20160921020509A
- Case key
- 94076
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, 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
The pilot reported that after four stop and go landings under night visual meteorological conditions, he planned to terminate the flight with a soft field landing. He further reported that as the airplane touched down, he heard scraping and the airplane subsequently slid to a stop on the runway. The pilot reported that he forgot to extend the landing gear for landing and did not hear the landing gear warning horn through his conventional (non-noise canceling) headset. The fuselage sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. During a postaccident interview with the chief flight instructor of the operator, he reported that the gear warning horn in the accident airplane was normally audible in the cockpit, but does not sound directly through the headset. He further reported that they are in the process of installing a "supplemental voice" gear warning horn that will sound through the airplane's audio panel.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that after four stop and go landings under night visual meteorological conditions, he planned to terminate the flight with a soft field landing. He further reported that as the airplane touched down, he heard scraping and the airplane subsequently slid to a stop on the runway. The pilot reported that he forgot to extend the landing gear for landing and did not hear the landing gear warning horn through his conventional (non-noise canceling) headset. The fuselage sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. During a postaccident interview with the chief flight instructor of the operator, he reported that the gear warning horn in the accident airplane was normally audible in the cockpit, but does not sound directly through the headset. He further reported that they are in the process of installing a "supplemental voice" gear warning horn that will sound through the airplane's audio panel.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N834PC
- Reported as
- New Piper PA-28R (201)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2844129
- Built
- 2006
- Airframe hours
- 2,270.1
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-C1C6, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Saint Louis University
- Registered owner
- Saint Louis University
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 27, 2016
- Departed
- CPS · East St. Louis, IL
- Destination
- CPS · East St. Louis, IL
- Airport
- CPS · St Louis Downtown, runway 12R, 7,002 × 150 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic multifunction display, Electronic primary flight display, 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
- 80
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 23, 2016
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 16,372 total · 130 in this make and model · 16,372 as pilot in command · 25 in the last 90 days · 25 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night
- Wind
- 190° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- KCPS
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 17, 2016, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 523 KB 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.