April 20, 2009, Moab, Utah, Cessna T201L Turbo Centurion

At 1230 Mountain time, the airplane landed gear-up at the end of a Part 135 tour flight. The pilot and five passengers were not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the undercarriage/fuselage after sliding 1300 feet down the runway. Visual conditions prevailed. The pilot selected 10 degrees of flaps, and then banked the airplane to show a point of interest to passengers. He later wrote, "This action so close to the runway distracted me, and I failed to lower the gear."

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • An airplane landed gear-up at the end of a Part 135 tour flight, resulting in substantial damage to the aircraft.
  • The pilot and five passengers were not injured in the gear-up landing.
  • The incident was caused by pilot distraction, specifically banking the airplane to show a point of interest to passengers, which led to a failure to lower the landing gear.
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At 1230 Mountain time, the airplane landed gear-up at the end of a Part 135 tour flight. The pilot and five passengers were not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the undercarriage/fuselage after sliding 1300 feet down the runway. Visual conditions prevailed.

The pilot selected 10 degrees of flaps, and then banked the airplane to show a point of interest to passengers. He later wrote, “This action so close to the runway distracted me, and I failed to lower the gear.”

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