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GAA15CA124

2015-05-29 · Sunriver, Oregon, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport S21

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to extend the landing gear, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage during landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's distraction from completing his before landing checklist and inability to hear the gear warning horn annunciator in his headphones.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that he entered the airport traffic pattern after a local sightseeing flight and began the before landing checklist. Three other aircraft announced their presence in the vicinity of the airport and the pilot turned his attention to locating the other aircraft without finishing the checklist. The pilot reported that he did not hear the gear warning horn annunciate while he was wearing his noise cancelling headset and landed with the gear retracted. A postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to the fuselage supporting structure. After the accident, the airplane was put on jack stands and the landing gear was extended manually. The landing gear was not operated through the use of the airplane's electrical system. The pilot reported flying the airplane the previous day and the landing gear operated normally. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that he entered the airport traffic pattern after a local sightseeing flight and began the before landing checklist. Three other aircraft announced their presence in the vicinity of the airport and the pilot turned his attention to locating the other aircraft without finishing the checklist. The pilot reported that he did not hear the gear warning horn annunciate while he was wearing his noise cancelling headset and landed with the gear retracted. A postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to the fuselage supporting structure. After the accident, the airplane was put on jack stands and the landing gear was extended manually. The landing gear was not operated through the use of the airplane's electrical system. The pilot reported flying the airplane the previous day and the landing gear operated normally. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

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

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2015_GAA15CA124.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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