Piper PA-24-250 accident near Chino, California, April 9, 2001
On April 9, 2001, a Piper PA-24-250, registered N6240P, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chino, California (Chino airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to extend the landing gear. A factor was the pilot's failure to use the landing checklist.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 9, 2001
- Place
- Chino, California · Chino · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-24-250 · all PA-24-250s on the register
- Registration
- N6240P · registry record · serial 24-1345
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane landed with the landing gear retracted. The pilot said he initiated a go-around on his first attempted landing because the runway wasn't clear. He forgot that he raised his landing gear. He was wearing a new noise attenuating headset that changed the sounds he normally heard when flying his airplane. He did not recognize the gear warning horn during the accident landing. He recalled that the gear warning horn was still sounding as he removed his headset.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,000 hours in all; 2,400 in this make and model; 4,000 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 22, 1999
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,842 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 1, 2000; 99 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-A1-C5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AJO Corona CA
- Destination: CNO Chino CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 26R, 4,856 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 11:52 pm from CNO
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.