San Antonio, TX, USA
N139RC
Cessna 210D
The pilot landed the airplane with the landing gear in the retracted position. The airplane slid to a stop and a post-impact fire erupted. The airplane was number 2 to land behind a transport category airplane, and a transport category airplane was on final approach behind the airplane. The 3,806-hour pilot did not extend the landing gear according to the checklist sequence as he was keeping the airplane's speed up, and planning to land the airplane beyond the touchdown point of the landing transport category airplane.
On August 18, 2003, at 1653 central daylight time, a Cessna 210D, single-engine airplane, N139RC, landed wheels up on runway 12R at the San Antonio International Airport (SAT), San Antonio, Texas. The airplane was owned and operated by the pilot under Code of Federal regulations Part 91. The private pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight, and a flight plan was not filed. The personal flight departed Deming, New Mexico, approximately 1230 mountain daylight time. The pilot reported that N139RC was cleared to land behind a transport category airplane. The 3,806 hour-pilot did not extend the landing gear according to the checklist sequence, as he planned to land N139RC beyond the touchdown point of the transport category airplane. The controller requested that the pilot of N139RC keep the airplane speed up due to an MD-80 on final approach for runway 12R. The pilot landed N139RC without extending the landing gear, and the airplane slid before coming to rest. A post-impact fire erupted. The FAA inspector, who responded to the accident site, reported that the airplane's touchdown point was approximately 1,800 feet beyond the threshold of runway 12R. Subsequently, the airplane slid approximately 500 feet, rupturing the fuel drain on the bottom of the fuselage, before coming to rest with the gear retracted. Thermal deformation occurred to the cowling, firewall, the windshield, the left main cockpit door, and the window. The leading edge of the left wing sustained thermal deformation.
The pilot's failure to comply with the checklist resulting in a wheels up landing. Contributing to the accident was self-induced pressure.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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