Cessna 210N N52MM accident near Somerville, New Jersey

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to extend the landing gear, which resulted in a gear up landing and substantial damage to the fuselage.

NTSB analysis

The private pilot departed on a short flight to a local airport. He said he made a straight in approach and conducted a before landing checklist. Upon landing, the pilot realized the landing gear was still retracted as the airplane settled onto the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the lower fuselage. A postaccident examination of the airplane’s landing gear and gear warning horn by a mechanic found no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Though the pilot said he used the before-landing checklist, he failed to extend the landing gear and subsequently landed with the gear retracted.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA21LA315 for the full record.