US investigators have determined that a gear-up landing involving a Cessna Citation V business jet at Dallas occurred because its pilot simply forgot to extend the undercarriage during approach.
The aircraft (N560RT) had been inbound from Houston to Dallas Executive airport on 6 September last year.
Its pilot testified that the original intention was to conduct an ILS approach to runway 31, but this was changed to an area navigation approach near the destination.
The aircraft was cleared to the waypoint NIVCI, which is the initial fix for the approach, and commenced a descent.
After advising the airport’s tower control that the flight was inbound from NIVCI, and that the runway was in sight, the pilot configured the flaps for landing.
According to the testimony, the tower called to ask whether the ILS was functioning, and the aircraft switched to ILS mode, with the pilot subsequently reporting that the glideslope was working but the localiser was not.
“During that time approaching the runway I had thought the aircraft was in complete landing configuration and continued to the runway to land,” the testimony adds. “No other calls were made from the tower or to the tower during this time.”
The National Transportation Safety Board states that, during the approach, the pilot “forgot to extend” the landing-gear and touched down with the undercarriage retracted.
The aircraft slid on the runway before coming to a halt, receiving substantial damage to its fuselage underside.
Neither of the two occupants – the pilot and a passenger – was injured.
Aircraft salvage specialist BAS Part Sales recently listed the 1991 airframe in its inventory for disassembly, offering various components including its engines, avionics, and cabin interior.
