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WPR20CA102

2020-02-14 · Minden, Nevada, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport MEV

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to complete a before landing checklist, which resulted in his delayed extension of the landing gear, and his subsequent exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

Factual narrative

The pilot of a retractable landing gear airplane reported that, while on downwind to land, he did a partial checklist and did not verify the landing gear position. While on final approach, about 20 ft above ground level, he heard over the radio that his gear was not down. The pilot reported that he immediately extended the landing gear, applied full power and applied back pressure on the control yoke. With the airplane still in the landing configuration, he believed that the airplane stalled and subsequently landed hard, separating the nose gear. The airplane veered off the runway and struck a runway sign before it came to rest upright. The left wing was substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that, while on downwind to land, he partially completed a checklist and did not verify the landing gear position. He added that, while on final approach and about 20 ft above ground level, a pilot waiting to take off told him over the radio that the landing gear were not down. The pilot immediately extended the landing gear and applied full power and back pressure on the control yoke. The airplane stalled and subsequently landed hard, and the nose landing gear separated. The airplane veered off the runway, struck a runway sign, and then came to rest upright. The left wing sustained substantial damage. 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 checklist-Pilot - C
  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Capability exceeded - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_WPR20CA102.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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