Piper PA-31-350 N770C

Summary

On 13 April 2007 at about 23:40 local time, a Piper PA-31-350 registered N770C was involved in an accident near Walker, Minnesota, United States. 3 people were 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

13 April 2007 at 23:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Walker, Minnesota, United States

Coordinates

47.1583, -94.6461

Aircraft

Piper PA-31-350

Registration

N770C

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fargo → Walker

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI07CA109

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadvertent failure to lower the landing gear.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane sustained substantial damage during an inadvertent wheels-up landing. The pilot stated that he entered a left downwind for runway 32 (2,803 feet by 75 feet, asphalt) at the intended destination airport. He reported that he lowered the landing gear and completed the before landing checklist. He noted: "All indications showed that [the landing] gear was down." He reported that during the landing flare, he "felt and heard metal grinding on the runway," and immediately executed a go-around. During the go-around, the airplane exhibited a right rolling tendency. Although, the pilot was able to maintain control, he was unable to avoid striking trees during the climb out. He subsequently noticed that the flaps were still down and raised them. The pilot returned to the airport for another landing attempt. He stated: "I lined up for a short final with my gear showing down and locked, flaps set to approach setting and power at almost [maximum]. I was able to land the aircraft and taxi to the ramp without further incident, where I parked and shut down." During the post accident inspection, the landing gear was observed in the down and locked position. Visual inspection of the landing gear did not reveal any anomalies. Three green landing gear position indicator lights were illuminated when the airplane was powered up during the inspection.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.