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ERA24LA049

2023-11-26 · Valdosta, Georgia, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport VLD

Current FAA registration · N94EM

Make / Model
BEECH A36
Year of manufacture
1982 · 41 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR IO 520 SERIES (285 hp)
Seats / Engines
6 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19820201
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AD0B3F

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to extend the landing gear before landing.

Factual narrative

The pilot stated that during the landing flare he realized that he forgot to extend the landing gear and determined it was too late to go around. The underside of the airplane’s fuselage settled onto the runway and skidded down the asphalt, resulting in substantial damage to the structure of the fuselage. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions that would have prevented normal operation of the airplane. The airplane was equipped with a landing gear position warning horn that was designed to sound when the throttle lever was pulled back for landing. The pilot reported that he did not specifically remember hearing the warning horn during the landing flare; however, he stated he might have mistaken the landing gear warning horn for the stall warning horn as he was expecting to hear the stall warning during the landing flare. The pilot reported that when he went back to the airplane after the accident and powered up the airplane’s electrical system, the landing gear warning horn operated normally. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Gear extension and retract sys-Not used/operated
  • — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Forgotten action/omission-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_ERA24LA049.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

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