Piper PA-31P-350 N9237Y

Summary

On 22 February 2011 at about 21:00 local time, a Piper PA-31P-350 registered N9237Y, operated by EAL Leasing, Inc., was involved in an accident near North Bend, Oregon, 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 February 2011 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

North Bend, Oregon, United States

Nearest airport

Southwest Oregon Regional (KOTH)

Coordinates

42.4169, -124.2469

Aircraft

Piper PA-31P-350

Registration

N9237Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

EAL Leasing, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Aurora → North Bend

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR11CA142

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to lower the landing gear while on approach to landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to follow a written checklist during the approach portion of the flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, while in the process of executing a terminal instrument approach to his home airport, he transitioned from instrument meteorological conditions to visual meteorological conditions. He canceled his instrument flight rules clearance, and transitioned from the terminal instrument approach to a visual flight rules approach pattern. During this sequence of events he did not follow a written checklist, and inadvertently forgot to lower the landing gear. During the landing flare, he heard the noise caused by the wing flaps and both propellers contacting the surface of the runway, and he added power and immediately executed a go-around. He then entered a closed pattern, lowered the landing gear and repositioned the flaps, before making an uneventful landing. He said during the approach he heard the gear warning horn sounding, but he thought it was the altitude alerting system. An inspection of both the runway surface scarring and each propeller blade revealed that the tips of all six blades had been grounded down by repeated contact with the asphalt surface. He also said that the airplane did not have any system malfunctions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.