Piper PA31T3-T1040 ZK-FPL, wheels-up landing, Taupo Aerodrome, 24 March 2000
Status
Closed
Occurrence Date
Report Publication Date
Jurisdiction
NZ
Legacy Inquiry Number
00-004
On Friday 24 March 2000 at 1019 hours, ZK-FPL, a Piper PA31T3-T1040, landed on runway 18 at Taupo Aerodrome with its undercarriage retracted. The 10 passengers and the pilot on board the aircraft were not injured.
The pilot had elected to delay lowering the undercarriage because of parachutists landing at the aerodrome, so he passed over that checklist item during his before-landing checks. He subsequently became preoccupied with the parachutists and did not remember to return to the outstanding checklist action of lowering the undercarriage. The aircraft undercarriage unsafe warning system did not give sufficient warning to alert the pilot in time for him to recover the situation. The pilot's omission is an example of an unintended act that can occur when conscious attention is diverted elsewhere. Defences should be in place to prevent such omissions resulting in accidents. Safety recommendations were made to the operator to reduce the potential for this type of accident to recur.
The pilot had elected to delay lowering the undercarriage because of parachutists landing at the aerodrome, so he passed over that checklist item during his before-landing checks. He subsequently became preoccupied with the parachutists and did not remember to return to the outstanding checklist action of lowering the undercarriage. The aircraft undercarriage unsafe warning system did not give sufficient warning to alert the pilot in time for him to recover the situation. The pilot's omission is an example of an unintended act that can occur when conscious attention is diverted elsewhere. Defences should be in place to prevent such omissions resulting in accidents. Safety recommendations were made to the operator to reduce the potential for this type of accident to recur.
Location
Taupo Aerodrome (-38.740812,176.084876) [may be approximate]