NTSB Factual Report

The pilot was arriving to land at a busy non-towered airport. Two military helicopters were doing practice approaches ahead of the accident airplane and two other aircraft were also in the traffic pattern. The pilot reported he inadvertently forgot to extend the landing gear, partly because of the strong gusting headwinds he experienced on final approach. His attention was directed toward making a smooth touchdown when he suddenly saw the propeller stop as the airplane contacted the runway surface. After the airplane came to a stop the pilot removed his electronic noise canceling headphones and he then heard the landing gear warning horn which was not wired into the audio interphone system. There was substantial damage to the fuselage structure.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot’s failure to extend the landing gear during the approach resulting in a gear-up landing.