Event CEN25LA133

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, shortly after takeoff, he heard a slapping noise outside the right front door of the airplane. He determined that the seatbelt was outside the door, and he decided to land to fix it. While on a midfield downwind to the runway, another pilot radioed that he was entering the vicinity of the airport to land. The accident pilot stated that he attempted to gauge the other pilot’s proximity to the airport and prepare himself for a crosswind landing and forgot to complete his prelanding checklist, which included lowering the landing gear. The airplane landed gear up, which resulted in substantial damage to the longerons on the belly of the airplane. The pilot reported that there were no malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• — Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Attention-Pilot
• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of checklist-Pilot
• — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Gear extension and retract sys-Not used/operated
• — Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring other aircraft-Pilot
• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of checklist-Pilot
• — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Gear extension and retract sys-Not used/operated