Seaplane or Amphibian
Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Flight Engineer; Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 5; Flight Crew Total 28500; Flight Crew Type 2000
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Ground Event / Encounter Gear Up Landing
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged; Flight Crew Became Reoriented; General Maintenance Action
Environment - Non Weather Related; Human Factors
This incident is a gear-up landing in an Amphibious aircraft a half hour before sunset. We were returning from a local lake as we had been doing water work as part of an insurance check. The pilot flying also stated he needed a flight review. On approach; I noted the pilot lowered the flaps but not the gear. I usually lower them together but we were returning from water work. The pilot wanted me to sign him off and plopped his log book in my lap on final. I said to wait up. The pilot; assuming I was going to sign off the flight so as to be able to leave to another airport right away. However; I had said early on that the flight might be a dual flight since it had been a year since flying. Early on his crosswind landings were not acceptable and I was intensely watching his final crosswind landing and failed to give a final check (GUMP) on the gear and we landed gear up. This incident was caused by distractions which I should have completely ignored. This would have prevented the incident. More attention to checklists was also necessary. Contributing to this incident was returning from water work where the gear handle is best left untouched! The gear up landing was our next landing.
I was supposed to have a Biannual Flight Review (BFR) and insurance re-currency flight in an aircraft right out of annual inspection. My certified Instructor was late and in addition couldn't find us at the airport making him later. He finally showed up and we did our ground instruction. I have not flown in 12 months so I was rusty and my Instructor was aware of this. We got in the air and did some pattern work. After about 6 landings we departed the airport to do some water landings and taxi work. We were out for just over 3 hours. We were inbound and I suggested we fly direct to the aircraft's home base to drop off my plane and I would get him back out to our departure airport and his car since he was so late getting out to our appointment. He was hesitant so I proceeded back to our departure airport and was given a straight in approach for the runway. He started telling me to fill out my logbook rather than watch what was happening in the cockpit. I was distracted with the logbook issue and him along with the fact that I would not be able to get my plane back to its base because I was not night current. We got into a conversation on how to proceed while I was on short final approach. We were both distracted and not going through the checklist as we were supposed to be doing and landed gear up on the runway. Damage was minimal in that I only needed a keel rub strip and a starboard sponson rub strip. The keel and sponson were undamaged. We got 2 jacks from the FBO; jacked the airplane up and extended the gear allowing me to taxi to the FBO for inspection and repair. I know that I share some blame on this because I know better than to be distracted in the cockpit during taxi; takeoff and landing. I was rusty and out of BFR so I had the instructor in the cockpit for a reason. The instructor was in the airplane PRIMARILY to keep me and my airplane SAFE and then to make me safer once we were done and signing me off for my BFR and insurance re-currency.
An Amphibious aircraft pilot made a gear up landing during his Biannual Flight Review because both he and the examiner had been practicing water landings and additionally were distracted about post flight activities.