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ATL91LA068

1991-03-20 · METTER, Georgia, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport MHP

N28CE has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (MOONEY M20J, built 1978), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO EXTEND THE LANDING GEAR WHEN HIS ATTENTION WAS DIVERTED BY RADIO CONVERSATION.

Factual narrative

THE PILOT & A FRIEND, ALSO A PILOT, WERE ON A LOCAL PERSONAL FLIGHT. THE FRIEND WAS FLYING THE AIRPLANE FROM THE RIGHT SEAT. AS THEY APPROACHED THE AIRPORT FOR LANDING THE PILOT TOLD HIS FRIEND TO SLOW THE AIRPLANE TO GEAR EXTENSION SPEED. HE THEN BECAME DISTRACTED BY RADIO CONVERSATION WITH ANOTHER PILOT WHO HAD JUST LANDED BUT HAD NOT CLEARED THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT SAID HE ASSUMED THAT THE FRIEND WOULD LOWER THE LANDING GEAR. TOO LATE, THE PILOT NOTED THAT THE GEAR HAD NOT BEEN EXTENDED. THE AIRPLANE SLID TO A STOP AND THE PILOTS SAW FIRE COMING FROM UNDER THE ENGINE. THE AIRPLANE BURNED BEFORE THE LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT COULD RESPOND. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_ATL91LA068.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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