There Are Consequences to Making a Gear-Up Landing

Dealing with FAA, NTSB, and insurance firm was all a learning experience for this pilot.

Scott Peters

Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at 09:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

[Illustration: Joel Kimmel]

Key Takeaways:

An experienced pilot mistakenly retracted the landing gear instead of the flaps during the rollout after a successful landing, causing a gear-up incident.
The incident was reported to the FAA and NTSB (possibly unnecessarily), but the pilots' truthful and cooperative approach, supported by AOPA legal services, resulted in a cordial resolution and classification as an incident.
Despite the plane being initially totaled by insurance, it was bought back and repaired, and the experience underscored the importance of truthfulness, learning from errors (like visually confirming switch positions), and positive engagement with aviation authorities.

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On November 3, 2019 (coincidentally, my son’s birthday), I was flying with my fellow co-owner and pilot in our Beechcraft B55 Baron. We both had hundreds of hours and landings in that plane.

It was a beautiful CAVU day. Jim was in the left seat; I was in the right seat. The plane was current and legal, and I was current and legal. Jim, however, was out of his medical due to some recent surgery, but due to get it back soon. So, of course, that made me PIC, which was fine.