Cessna 310N N310VD accident near Carrollton, Ohio

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to confirm the landing gear was down before landing due to distraction during the Before Landing checks, which resulted in a gear-up landing.

NTSB analysis

The airline transport pilot reported that, while on downwind in the traffic pattern, he lowered the landing gear handle and verbally announced “gear down.” He looked at the cockpit indications to verify the landing gear was down and locked; however, he then shifted his attention outside of the cockpit to visually scan for three aircraft approaching and entering the traffic pattern. He reported that he did not confirm the landing gear was down and locked, as he was distracted with scanning for the other traffic. During landing, the bottom of the fuselage sustained substantial damage. A postaccident functional test of the landing gear revealed no mechanical anomalies with the landing gear system. The pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe and engines that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN21LA205 for the full record.