Chehalis-Centralia Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Chehalis, Washington 98531
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 18:30 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he was performing a straight in approach to the runway and he reduced power and extended the speed brakes as he descended. He also made several radio calls. When the airplane was about 5 miles from the runway, the pilot performed the pre-landing checklist, which he said includes putting the gear down. He reported that he intentionally left the gear retracted to keep more speed on the approach. When he was 3 miles from the runway, the pilot began a conversation over the radio with another pilot who was departing the airport. He stated that he became distracted by the conversation and did not remember to lower the landing gear. The airplane touched down in the middle of the runway with the gear retracted and sustained structural damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to lower the landing gear, resulting in a gear up landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/23/2008
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1830
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Chehalis
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98531
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 464037N
Event Location Longitude 1225858W
Event Location Airport CHEHALIS-CENTRALIA
Event Location Nearest Airport ID CLS
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 176
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Light and Variable
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 24135
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 28 2008 3:01PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Seattle

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N252MX
NTSB Number LAX08CA247
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Mooney
Aircraft Model M20K
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 25-1049
Certified Max Gross Weight 2900
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 2475.9
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Mark R. Leadbetter
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Onalaska
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98570
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code KUAO
Departure City Aurora
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1800
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Chehalis
Destination State WA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 15 2008 5:45PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 34
Runway Length 5000
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --