DG-500 lands gear-up after skipped final checklist
A DG-500 Elan Orion landed gear-up and came to rest on its belly, lightly scratched; neither pilot was hurt. Returning from a cross-country flight against winds aloft near 65 km/h, the pilot could not regain his home field and diverted to a nearer aerodrome, reaching it at 150-200 m AGL. A surface headwind and rising terrain short of the threshold left him fixated on not landing short, and pressed for time he skipped the final-approach checklist. He never lowered the gear nor heard the warning horn; investigators traced the belly landing to reduced situational awareness on that high-workload approach.
- Cross-country return leg: A DG-500 Elan Orion was returning to its home field from a distance flight when strong winds aloft cut its range.
- Home field out of reach: Against south-westerly winds aloft near 65 km/h and with no lift on the return, the pilot realised he could no longer reach the departure airfield.
- Diverted to nearer aerodrome: He turned for a closer airfield ringed by better outlanding terrain — a sound decision given the reduced glide — reaching it overhead at only 150-200 m AGL.
- Fixated on not landing short: A roughly 35 km/h surface headwind and steeply rising ground before the threshold kept his attention on not undershooting the runway.
- Final checklist skipped: Pressed for time, he omitted the short final-approach checklist, so the landing gear was never selected down and the warning horn went unnoticed.
- Gear-up landing: The glider touched down on its belly on the hard runway; both occupants were unhurt and damage was limited to scratches on the fuselage underside.