An Embraer EMB-810 Seneca III (an Embraer-built Piper PA-34-220T Seneca) was to operate a short positioning flight from Fazenda Araribá to Canarana (Brasil). The purpose of the flight was to refuel the aircraft at the destination airport.
The aircraft shortly after coming to a stop (© & Source CENIPA)
Only the pilot was on board the aircraft for the 35 nm (65.3 km) flight, which was operated under Visual Flight Rules (VFR). After the necessary preparations were completed the aircraft took off and set course to Canarana. Canarana features a single runway (18 - 36) with a length of 3412 feet and 89 feet wide (1040 m x 27 m) at an elevation of 1306 feet MSL (Mean Sea Level). It is an uncontrolled airfield, where traffic coordination is reliant on bilateral communication between aircraft.
After entering the traffic circuit for runway 18 while flying the downwind leg the pilot heard a 2nd aircraft heading for Canarana which was intending to approach and land on runway 36.
After receiving this information the pilot of the EMB-810 decided to make a short landing and clear the runway as short as possible after the touchdown. When the power levers were retarded the pilot was alerted to the fact that the landing gear wasn't down. For reasons unknown, the pilot decided to continue the landing with the landing gear retracted. The aircraft settled on its belly onto the runway causing damage to the lower fuselage and propellors. The pilot did not sustain any injuries.
The incident aircraft in April 2003 (© Jaka, Source Airliners.net)
The incident was reported to, and investigated by the Brasilian authorities (CENIPA) In their report they listed the following facts;
The pilot was properly certified to operate the flight
The aircraft had flown 5 hours and 30 minutes since its annual inspection
The pilot was experienced on the route flown
The pilot reported that he accelerated procedures to land
During the final approach the verification of the landing gear being down and locked, as contained in the relevant checklist, was not performed
The accident investigation report, which served as the source for this blog, is available by clicking on the .pdf file below, (please note the report is in Portuguese);
** Editorial note **
V2 Aviation - Training & Maintenance has not been able to obtain an investigation report in English on this accident. This blog is therefore based on a translation of the original report. Should there be inconsistencies in the blog don't hesitate to get in touch with us. There are two possibilities to do that, via the comments function at the bottom of this page or via the contact page of the website.