N916MTBeech 95-B55 (T42A) · 1973

The pilot of the twin-engine airplane was landing in gusty wind conditions and thought that he had extended the landing gear. As he began to flare, he felt a bump and attributed it to the wind. The pilot then pitched the nose of the airplane up and quickly put his hand on the landing gear lever to confirm that the landing gear was down. The airplane began to roll to the right, so he returned his hand to the throttles to reduce power on the right engine, and the airplane impacted the ground on the left wing and nose. The belly of the airplane then hit the ground and the airplane slid upright before coming to a stop, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage.

Airport surveillance video captured the airplane as it began to flare over the runway with the landing gear retracted. The airplane then pitched up and the landing gear was observed extending while the airplane was just a few feet above the runway. The left-wing then dropped and impacted the ground followed by the nose and fuselage.

The pilot said, “By all accounts, I did not lower the landing gear.” However, he did not recall extending the gear after the airplane pitched up during the flare. He said he may have partially extended the gear on downwind because he never confirmed that the “green” gear-down lights were illuminated. The pilot said he normally announces the pre-landing checklist out loud but did not do it on this flight. Due to the gusty wind conditions, he landed with partial flaps, higher airspeed, and power setting. As a result, this configuration did not trigger the landing gear warning horn.