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GAA18CA346

2018-06-13 · Caddo Mills, Texas, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 7F3

Current FAA registration · N82303

Make / Model
PIPER PA-32R-301T
Year of manufacture
1980 · 38 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING TI0-540 SER (310 hp)
Seats / Engines
7 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19800527
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AB3E74

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The student pilot’s failure to extend the landing gear before landing and to follow the Before Landing checklist, which resulted in an attempted go-around and subsequent hard landing.

Factual narrative

The solo student, pilot reported that, during the landing flare, the gear-retracted warning horn sounded. The propeller struck the ground and he applied full throttle and initiated a go-around. The engine began "bucking," so he decided to lower the landing gear and land on the remaining runway. He applied forward pressure to the yoke to level the airplane, but the airplane touched down hard and came to rest upright, off the left side of the runway. The student recommended on the NTSB form 6120.1 that he should have verified the configuration of the landing gear prior to landing. He added that he did not use a pre-landing checklist. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The student reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The solo student pilot reported that, during the landing flare, the gear-retracted warning horn sounded. The propeller struck the ground, and he applied full throttle and initiated a go-around. The engine began "bucking," so he decided to lower the landing gear and land on the remaining runway. He applied forward pressure to the yoke to level the airplane, but the airplane touched down hard and came to rest upright, off the left side of the runway. The student reported that he should have verified the configuration of the landing gear before landing. He added that he did not use a prelanding checklist. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The student reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions 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.

  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Lack of action-Student/instructed pilot - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of checklist-Student/instructed pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Gear extension and retract sys-Not used/operated - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2018_GAA18CA346.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 (go-around). All research papers