- Date
- June 16, 2009, 17:45 local (Jun 17, 2009, 00:45 UTC)
- Place
- Arlington, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N707XADornier ALPHA-JET
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing gear not configured
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 10, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Seattle FSDO
- FAA report
- 20090617009249A
- Case key
- 74078
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 lower the landing gear prior to landing. Contributing to the accident were the distractions created by the pilot incorrectly setting a radio frequency and by his fixation on an airplane that was on the runway during his approach.
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
As he was preparing to land, the contract pilot, who was positioning the airplane at the destination airport for minor maintenance, inadvertently set one number incorrectly when he initially set in the common traffic advisory frequency. After transmitting his position/intent four times, and hearing no other aircraft on the radio (including one that he saw on the runway), he realized that his frequency was not set correctly. He therefore set in the correct frequency. About the time he was resetting the frequency, he lowered the flaps to full, but inadvertently forgot to lower the landing gear. As he continued on around the pattern, he became "preoccupied" with the aircraft that was on the runway, and did not notice that the gear was not extended. He subsequently landed with the gear retracted, resulting in substantial damage to the belly stringers and bulkheads. The pilot reported that there were no anomalies associated with any of the airplane's systems.
Factual narrative
The contract pilot, who was positioning the airplane at the destination airport for minor maintenance, inadvertently set one number incorrectly when he initially set in the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF). After transmitting his position/intent four times, and hearing no other aircraft on the radio (including one that he saw on the runway), he realized that his frequency was not set correctly. He therefore set in the correct frequency. About the time he was resetting the frequency, he lowered the flaps to full, but inadvertently forgot to lower the landing gear. As he continued on around the pattern, he became "preoccupied" with the aircraft that was on the runway, and did not notice that the gear was not extended. He subsequently landed with the gear retracted, resulting in substantial damage to the belly stringers and bulkheads. The pilot reported that there were no anomalies associated with any of the airplane's systems.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N707XA
- Reported as
- Dornier ALPHA-JET
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 0007
- Engine
- Snecma 04C20, turbo fan
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- KBFI · Seattle, WA
- Destination
- KAWO · Arlington, WA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- KAWO · Arlington, runway 16, asphalt
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
- 62
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight engineer, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Flight hours
- 20,558 total · 108 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 63 °F
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 24, 2009, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 669 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.