IAD98LA056

According to the pilot, he forgot to extend the landing gear prior to landing. He was cleared for straight in landing on runway 10. He was distracted when he was advised that traffic would be landing on an intersecting runway, and he had to hold short of runway 10. He said he looked visually, sighted the landing traffic, and failed to check gear down. He failed to re-start the checklist after having been distracted in the middle of the list. He said there was no mechanical problems with the airplane, and the accident could have been prevented if he had double checked the gear position, and installed a now available gear warning system designed for amphibious aircraft.

On May 12, 1998, at 1345 eastern daylight time, N1AS, a Grumman G-44, was substantially damaged when it collided with the runway during landing at the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Cleveland, Ohio. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed. The certificated airline transport pilot was not injured. The business flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Chicago, Illinois.

According to the pilot, he forgot to extend the landing gear prior to landing. He said, "...I was cleared for straight in landing on runway 10. I was distracted when I was advised, 'traffic would be landing runway 5 to hold short of runway 10.' I looked visually, sighted the landing traffic, and failed to check gear down...I failed to re-start my checklist after having been distracted in the middle of the list."

The pilot reported over 30,000 hours of total flight experience, including 1,500 hours in make and model. He said there was no mechanical problems with the airplane, and the accident could have been prevented if he had double checked the gear position, and installed a now available gear warning system designed for amphibious aircraft.