Piper PA-24-250 N6774P

Summary

On 22 October 1999 at about 20:00 local time, a Piper PA-24-250 registered N6774P was involved in an accident near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 October 1999 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States

Nearest airport

Sundance Airpark (HSD)

Coordinates

35.4504, -97.5693

Aircraft

Piper PA-24-250

Registration

N6774P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tucumcari → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW00LA018

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the pilot to follow the landing checklist and verify that the landing gear was down and locked, which resulted in a wheels up landing. A factor was the failure of the landing gear locking mechanism for an undetermined reason.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he 'entered a downwind leg for runway 35 at which time [he] had lowered the landing gear. Everything seemed normal until touchdown when the gear retracted.' The pilot stated that 'evidently the gear did not lock.' The airplane slid 250 yards and came to a stop upright. A postaccident fire erupted and consumed the cockpit, including the instrument panel, and the belly of the airframe. According to the Pilot's Operating Handbook, a green light on the instrument panel below the landing gear switch indicates all gears down and locked. Furthermore, item number 6 on the landing checklist states the following: 'Landing gear down (under 150 MPH check green light on, warning horn off, gear emergency handle in forward position).'

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.