Piper PA28R N7716C accident near Houston, Texas

Probable cause

The pilot receiving instruction's failure to extend the landing gear and the flight instructor's failure to ensure that the landing gear were extended during landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot receiving instruction's and instructor's failure to conduct a prelanding checklist.

NTSB analysis

The private pilot reported that he was receiving commercial instruction in an airplane with retractable landing gear during a cross-country flight. He added that, while he turned the airplane from the downwind leg to the base leg of the traffic pattern for the runway, he did not perform the checklist, and the flight instructor did not verity that the landing gear were extended. The airplane touched down on the runway with the landing gear retracted.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the external longerons on the lower fuselage.

The pilot receiving instruction reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for GAA18CA418 for the full record.