- Date
- July 25, 2004, 21:42 local (Jul 26, 2004, 04:42 UTC)
- Place
- Seattle, WA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N663WPiper Aerostar 602P
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed · report October 28, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA-FSDO
- FAA report
- 20040725014989A
- Case key
- 59736
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 landing gear extention not performed by the pilot.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane landed gear-up and the pilot reported, in part, "...Seattle approach assigned the visual approach into Boeing Field runway 31L and sequenced me between a Lear and a Citation requesting that I keep hold speed at 160 knots until DUANE intersection." During the approach the pilot was handed off to Boeing tower and was cleared for the visual approach. He reported "As I approached I slowed to gear extension speed and thought I had extended my gear (I had actually actuated my flaps)." Shortly thereafter, the airplane landed on runway 31L with the landing gear retracted. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that may have contributed to the accident.
Factual narrative
On July 25, 2004, about 2142 Pacific daylight time, a Piper Aerostar 602P, N663W, sustained substantial damage during a wheels-up landing on runway 31L at the Boeing-King County International Airport (BFI), Seattle, Washington. The airplane is owned by the pilot, and was being operated as a cross-country flight under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The commercial pilot and passenger were not injured. The flight originated at Sandpoint, Idaho, approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes prior to the accident.
In a written statement, the pilot reported, in part, "...Seattle approach assigned the visual approach into Boeing Field runway 31L and sequenced me between a Lear and a Citation requesting that I keep hold speed at 160 knots until DUANE intersection." During the approach the pilot was handed off to Boeing tower and was cleared for the visual approach. He reported "As I approached I slowed to gear extension speed and thought I had extended my gear (I had actually actuated my flaps)." Shortly thereafter, the airplane landed on runway 31L with the landing gear retracted.
The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that may have contributed to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N663W
- Reported as
- Piper Aerostar 602P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 62P09298165052
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James T. Kajiya
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- KSZT · Sandpoint, ID
- Destination
- BFI · Seattle, WA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- BFI · Boeing Field/King County Intl, runway 31L
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
- 53
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 982 total · 325 in this make and model · 20 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.