# NTSB MIA02IA072: Piper PA-31-325, N49RB, Fort Laudedale, FL, March 23, 2002 - Type: NTSB incident investigation - Classification: Incident · No injuries · Incident investigation · Final report - Date: March 23, 2002, 18:02 local (23:02 UTC) - Place: Fort Laudedale, FL - Coordinates: 26.072778, -80.152778 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.0728&lon=-80.1528&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report August 28, 2002 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: FSDO FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 54390 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=MIA02IA072 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/54390/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54390 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA02IA072 ## Probable cause The failure of the pilot to assure all items of the before landing checklist were complied with before landing, resulting in the wheels up landing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Wheels up landing, landing - flare/touchdown - checklist - not complied with, pilot in command (cause) ## Analysis According to the pilot, due to radio traffic congestion at his landing airport, he missed the tower's call for his landing clearance, and his attempts to confirm his clearance were continually blocked. He completed all items on his before landing checklist except the landing gear, and by the time he got confirmation to land, he was on short final approach, and he forgot to lower the landing gear. Postcrash examination of the wheels up warning circuit revealed an operable warning horn. ## Factual narrative On March 23, 2002, about 1802 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-31-325 Navaho, N49RB, registered to a private individual, doing business as Twin Air, Inc., operating as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 positioning flight, sustained a gear up landing at Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale International Airport, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an international visual flight plan was filed. The aircraft received minor damage, and the airline transport rated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated from Marsh Harbor, Great Abaco Island, Bahamas, about 59 minutes before the incident. According to the pilot, as he entered the downwind leg for a landing on runway 09R, he asked for and received clearance from Fort Lauderdale tower to momentarily leave tower frequency to cancel his VFR flight plan with Miami AFSS. Having done so, and switching back to tower frequency, he thought he heard the tower clear him to land, but was not certain. The radio traffic was so intense that he could not get acknowledgement from the tower exactly what his interval was behind other landing traffic. He completed his landing checklist, holding the landing gear until he could confirm with the tower his clearance to land. He did not get clearance to land until he was on short final approach, and he forgot to lower the landing gear. The pilot stated he did not hear any gear warning horn at any time. A 72-hour history of the pilot's activities revealed that the 3 days prior to the incident day, (1) 9 hours 40 minutes, (2) 14 hours 55 minutes, and, (3) 8 hours 40 minutes were spent doing office work, with no flying duties. The day of the incident, the pilot was on duty for 9 hours 28 minutes, and flew 6 flight segments totaling 6 hours 55 minutes. According to the air taxi owner/operator, the pilot admitted to simply forgetting to put the gear lever down as part of his prelanding preparations. The owner, himself, was involved in the recovery of the aircraft, and stated that as soon as he placed the aircraft's "master switch" to the "on" position during the recovery, the gear warning horn sounded properly. He stated the pilot was using the full ear covering type of radio headset, and possibly he did not hear the gear warning horn. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N49RB](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N49RB-2018-03-16), registration cancelled 2018-03-16, S/N 31-7512031, built 1975 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper PA-31-325 - Registry model: [Piper PA-31-325](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31-325) (registry code 7103105) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming TI0-540 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (registry code 41533, turbo-prop) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 31-7512031 - Airframe hours: 7373.2 - Engines: Lycoming TIO 540-J2BD 350 horsepower reciprocating; Lycoming TIO 540-J2BD 350 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Minor damage - Flight: Positioning, Part 91 - Operator: Twin Air - Registered owner: Robin V. Gamber - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, January 9, 2002, 14.9 hours before - Departed: MYAM, Marsh Harbor, CB - Destination: KFLL, Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: KFLL, Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood Intl., runway 09R, 5,276 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 53; injuries: none; flight instructor, airline transport; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: helicopter, airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review March 28, 2001; seat: left; flight hours: 7,921 total, 555 in this make and model, 6,881 as pilot in command, 8 in the last 90 days, 3 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 100° at 9 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 30,000 ft broken - Temperature: 75 °F, dew point 55 °F - Altimeter: 30.06 inHg - Observed at: FLL ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Incident 20020323014009I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020323014009I), Mar 23, 2002: Piper PA31325, Ft Lauderdale, FL, Minor damage. (-23) On March 23, 2002, about 1802 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-31-350 navajo N49RB, registered to a private individual, doing business as twin air,… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 2, 2002, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54390. 402 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1/2 (item 1, .PDF, 352 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40395500&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1%2F2-Redacted.PDF - Transcript of Telephone Communications (item 2, .PDF, 50 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40395502&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Transcript%20of%20Telephone%20Communications-Redacted.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.