Amateur-built VELOCITY XL RG N84KJ accident near Petaluma, California

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed during an aborted landing, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack and an inadvertent aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s distraction while on final approach.

NTSB analysis

The private pilot reported that he was on final approach for landing when he observed another airplane landing on the same runway. To maintain separation between the two airplanes, the pilot performed s-turns and retracted the landing gear to improve the glide distance. When he extended the landing gear for the second time in preparation for landing, the landing gear position indicator light did not illuminate. The pilot pushed the gear reset button and subsequently pulled back on the control stick to abort the landing, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and stalling 10 to 20 ft above the runway. A witness observed the accident airplane on final approach with the landing gear retracted and at a low airspeed. The airplane touched down, bounced back into the air, settled onto the runway, and slid about 100 ft before coming to rest.

Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the landing gear handle was in the UP position. A mechanic who recovered the airplane reported that he overheard the pilot say he was distracted on final approach.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR17LA032 for the full record.