N9281RCessna TR182 · 1978

According to the pilot of the retractable landing gear airplane, he retracted the landing gear after departure, however, the landing gear warning horn continued to sound. After multiple extensions and retractions in hopes of correcting the issue, he decided to continue the flight with the landing gear extended. The pilot reported that he made an approach at his destination airport, bounced the landing, and taxied to parking. He reported the aforementioned events to the operator, and further inspection revealed substantial damage to the firewall.

Further inspection by the operator's mechanics, accompanied by the Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Inspector, revealed that the landing gear warning horn sounded in the retracted position, as a result of an intermittent fault in the throttle position micro-switch.

The pilot reported that he was practicing takeoffs and landings in the traffic pattern when the accident occurred. He noted that he did not follow his normal routine, which was to lower the landing gear prior to the wing flaps while on downwind leg; instead he lowered the flaps. At that time, he noticed that the airspeed was low. The pilot stated that he subsequently became fixated on maintaining airspeed and did not notice that the landing gear was not extended. Additionally, he did not complete a before landing checklist. The pilot noted that there were no failures or malfunctions associated with the airplane prior to the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage during the gear-up landing.