Piper PA-44-180 N436PA

Summary

On 5 July 2013 at about 17:00 local time, a Piper PA-44-180 registered N436PA, operated by Bird Acquisition LLC, was involved in an accident near Casa Grande, Arizona, United States. 2 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

5 July 2013 at 17:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Casa Grande, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Casa Grande Municipal (CGZ)

Coordinates

32.9553, -111.7661

Aircraft

Piper PA-44-180

Registration

N436PA

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Bird Acquisition LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Casa Grande → Casa Grande

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR13CA316

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to extend the landing gear before landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's and the flight examiner's distracted attention.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during a multi-engine check ride, the check pilot (examiner) simulated an engine failure. When the throttle was retarded, the landing gear unsafe warning horn came on and it sounded throughout the remainder of the flight. The pilot performed a simulated single engine approach and decided to delay extending the landing gear until the airplane was on the base leg of the traffic pattern. While turning to the base leg, he was distracted by calls from other traffic and failed to extend the landing gear. The examiner also reported concentrating her attention on the other traffic. The airplane touched down with the gear up and it slid about 1,400 feet before coming to a stop. The airplane's fuselage sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.