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ERA24LA108

2024-02-04 · Abingdon, Virginia, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport VJI

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to lower the airplane's landing gear prior to landing, which resulted in abnormal runway contact.

Factual narrative

During a youth demonstration flight, the pilot became distracted looking for another airplane in the traffic pattern and sharing information with the young passengers. He subsequently forgot to lower the landing gear, and the airplane landed gear up, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident anomalies or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation and added that he heard no cockpit warnings since he was wearing a noise cancelling headset. 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
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Main landing gear-Incorrect use/operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2024_ERA24LA108.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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