Landing gear not configured: Cessna 680 Citation Sovereign, N680SA, accident on August 18, 2024, at Washington-Warren Airport (OCW/KOCW), Washington, North Carolina

• Location: Washington, North Carolina 
• Accident Number: ERA24LA351 
• Date & Time: August 18, 2024, 21:39 UTC 
• Registration: N680SA 
• Aircraft: Cessna 680 
• Aircraft Damage: Substantial 
• Defining Event: Landing gear not configured 
• Injuries: 1 Minor, 2 None 
• Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Positioning

https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/194945/pdf

https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194945

The business jet landed on the runway at the completion of a visual approach with the landing gear retracted. The airplane slid to a stop, and a post-crash fire ensued which resulted in the airplane sustaining substantial damage. The two pilots, the sole occupants, egressed the airplane successfully without injury. In telephone interviews and written statements, the pilots each stated that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane that would have precluded deployment of the landing gear and a successful landing.

The first officer further stated that the gear warning was only audible in the left seat (Captain’s) headset and was not heard in her headset (right seat) or the overhead speaker, and that the communications panel had a “history” of problems.

Review of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) confirmed the limitations of the airplane’s communication system, that the crew was aware of them, and that they discussed and debated how to mitigate the system’s limitations.

The review also revealed that during the flights on the day of the accident, the performance of Before-Starting-Engines, Engine Start, Before Taxi, Before Takeoff, Before Landing and other tasks did not comport with the manufacturer’s checklists and were sometimes performed without any verbal communication between crewmembers. The CVR recording further revealed that the captain removed his headset due to a 500Hz “squeal” that he failed to identify as the gear warning horn, and consequently missed the repeating, “too low, gear” aural warning that followed.

- Probable Cause: The flight crew’s failure to properly configure the airplane before landing and the captain’s subsequent failure to recognize the landing gear aural warning, which resulted in a gear-up landing. Contributing to the accident was the flight crew’s inadequate checklist use and crew coordination, and the known diminished capability of the airplane’s communication system.