NTSB CEN26LA038 — 2025-11-05 · Brainerd, Minnesota, United States

Current FAA registration · N9054C

Make / Model: CESSNA R182
Year of manufacture: 1978 · 47 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING 0-540 SERIES (250 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19780605
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S AC84A6

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N9054C Cessna R182 None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to extended to landing gear before landing.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that he was completing a local flight and was practicing an instrument approach. During the approach he observed several birds in his intended flight path, which distracted him multiple times, and he forgot to extend the landing gear. Due to the distraction, he also did not notice the landing gear warning horn. The airplane landed with the gear retracted and came to rest upright on the runway, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies 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-Lack of action-Pilot
— Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Pilot
— Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Gear extension and retract sys-Not used/operated

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2025_CEN26LA038.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 (icing). All research papers