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CEN24LA026

2023-10-24 · Savoy, Illinois, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport CMI

Current FAA registration · N5331N

Make / Model
PIPER PA-44-180
Year of manufacture
2001 · 22 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING O-360 SERIES (180 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date
20011216
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A6BE1A

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to extend the landing gear before landing and the flight instructor’s inadequate supervision to ensure that the landing gear was extended.

Factual narrative

During a multi-engine instructional flight, the flight instructor simulated an engine failure at the final approach fix. The pilot receiving instruction focused on maintaining control of the airplane and neither the pilot nor the flight instructor verified that the landing gear was extended. During the landing, they realized that the landing gear was still retracted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage. A postaccident examination of the landing gear system by a mechanic revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The instructor stated that there was nothing mechanically wrong with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Forgotten action/omission-Pilot
  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Forgotten action/omission-Instructor/check pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Gear extension and retract sys-Not used/operated
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of checklist-Pilot
  • — Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Task monitoring/vigilance-Instructor/check pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_CEN24LA026.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (engine failure). All research papers