N9968C

On March 19, 1995, at 1140 mountain standard time, a Cessna 182RG, N9968C, sustained substantial damage when the pilot landed gear up at Prescott, Arizona. The aircraft was owned and operated by the pilot and was on a cross-country flight. Visual meteorological conditions were prevalent at the time and a flight plan had been filed for the operation. Neither the certificated private pilot nor his three passengers were injured. The flight originated from the Flagstaff Pulliam airport at 1120 on the day of the accident.

As the pilot approached Prescott, he monitored the automated terminal information service (ATIS) and contacted the tower with a request for landing.

While about 2 miles out on an extended final to runway 21L, the control tower requested that the pilot make a side step approach to runway 21R in order to permit spacing for landing traffic. The pilot stated that the approach threshold for runway 21R was approximately 1,000 feet closer than 21L which resulted in a shorter approach than he had anticipated. In his statement, the pilot concluded the unexpected changes in landing instructions and shorter approach distance distracted him during his before landing checks, and thus contributed to his failure to lower his landing gear.

The pilot stated that as he began his landing flare and throttled back, he heard the gear horn and instinctively reached for the gear handle, placing it in the down position. He next began to initiate a go-around, but quickly changed his mind as he realized that he had already extended full flaps as well as feeling, what he believed was, the tail of his aircraft contacting the runway. As a result, he immediately closed the throttle, electing to keep the aircraft on the runway.

At this point in the landing sequence, the pilot noticed that a right crosswind had caused his aircraft to drift toward the left side of the runway. He attempted to correct for the condition, but after swerving left and right the aircraft finally veered off the right side of the runway. He stated that he felt the crosswind component was stronger than reported by ATIS, but had not requested a wind check from the tower prior to landing. After the aircraft came to rest and before shutting off the master switch, he reported to the tower that he had just had a "gear-up" landing. The pilot reported that he had not used a "before landing" checklist.

A postaccident inspection of the aircraft by an airframe and powerplant (A & P) mechanic revealed both main gear were extended in a trailing position and had not locked down. The nose gear was down and locked. An examination of the landing gear system failed to identify any malfunctions that would have prevented the main gear from locking in the down position. The gear-up landing resulted in compression damage to the right wing tip, right aileron, right horizontal stabilizer, right elevator, and the last 18 inches of belly skin.