GAA18CA462

Factual narrative

The pilot in the retractable landing gear-equipped airplane reported that during the cross-country flight, the auto-pilot failed and he struggled to use the sectional charts. Additionally, heat and wind made the flight uncomfortable, and smoke from wildland fires decreased visibility to about 5 statute miles so he decided to land. Upon arrival at the airport he decided to leave the landing gear retracted as he searched for the wind sock on the airport. He did not locate the wind sock and attempted to contact the airport on the airport's Unicom, but later discovered that he had used an incorrect frequency. He decided to land on runway 5, which he later identified was the incorrect runway given the wind direction. He recalled that he had completed some variation of the GUMPS checklist but forgot to extend the landing gear and landed with the landing gear retracted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the longerons and bulkheads. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot in the retractable landing gear-equipped airplane reported that, during the cross-country flight, the autopilot failed, and he struggled to use the sectional charts. He added that heat and wind made the flight uncomfortable, and smoke from wildland fires decreased visibility to about 5 statute miles, so he decided to land. He completed some of the GUMPS (gas [proper tank selected], undercarriage [gear down], mixture [full mix for landing], and propeller [high rpm setting]) checklist and decided not to extend the landing gear to have better control. Upon arrival at the airport, he decided to leave the landing gear retracted as he searched for the windsock on the airport, but he could not find it. Subsequently, he attempted to contact the airport on the Unicom frequency, but he later determined that he had used an incorrect frequency. He decided to land on runway 5, which he later identified was the incorrect runway given the wind direction. He forgot to extend the landing gear before landing.   The airplane sustained substantial damage to the longerons and bulkheads. The pilot 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-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Gear extension and retract sys-Not used/operated - C
• C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Forgotten action/omission-Pilot - C
• F Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of checklist-Pilot - F
• F Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Attention-Pilot - F