Piper PA-44-180 N7122E

Summary

On 23 August 2023 at about 20:40 local time, a Piper PA-44-180 registered N7122E, operated by American Flyers, was involved in an accident near Bonham, Texas, 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

23 August 2023 at 20:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Bonham, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Jones Field Airport (F00)

Coordinates

33.6131, -96.1793

Aircraft

Piper PA-44-180

Registration

N7122E

Category

Airplane

Year built

2018

Engines

2

Operator

American Flyers

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Addison → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23LA382

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the pilot receiving instruction and flight instructor to follow the landing checklist and extend the landing gear before landing

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor stated that during a simulated one engine inoperative approach and landing, the pilot receiving instruction chose to leave the landing gear retracted until the landing was assured. The pilot receiving instruction turned the airplane onto a short base leg before final, increased the mixture and propeller control settings, and increased the airplane bank angle so as not to overshoot the final approach course. The flight instructor saw that the airplane airspeed was decreasing and told the pilot receiving instruction that they were low. The pilot receiving instruction increased airplane pitch, which resulted in a decrease in airspeed, a loss of altitude, and a rolling motion. The flight instructor leveled the wings and reduced pitch to regain airplane control and lift. When the airplane was over the runway threshold, the flight instructor did not remember that the landing gear was still retracted and he did not complete the final landing checklist, which resulted in a landing with the landing gear retracted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the underside fuselage longerons. There was no mechanical malfunction/failure of the airplane or system that would have precluded normal operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.