FlightFollowerA Piper Comanche Landed Gear-Up at Scottsdale
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Timeline
1
11 April 2013 — N5500P operated a private flight involving Scottsdale Municipal Airport.
2
Landing — The Piper PA-24-250 made an emergency gear-up landing.
3
After touchdown — The aircraft sustained minor damage and the pilot was uninjured.
4
Later documentation — An FAA FOIA log recorded a request for tower audio relating to the event.
The runway became the controlled landing surface
A gear-up landing places the aircraft's underside in contact with the runway instead of the wheels. In this case, the aircraft completed the abnormal landing at Scottsdale. The event was significant enough that an FAA FOIA log later recorded a request for the tower audio concerning the N5500P belly landing near Scottsdale.
The Cause Remains Unresolved
No final investigative report establishing why the gear remained retracted was identified. A contemporaneous aviation accident listing confirms the date, aircraft, registration and location, while the FAA FOIA record independently confirms that tower audio existed for the event.
A successful outcome, without an invented cause
The FAA record states: “Tower audio recording concerning belly landing involving N5500P on April 11, 2013, near Scottsdale, AZ.”
Accident Facts
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-24-250 Comanche N5500P
- Date
- 11 April 2013
- Location
- Scottsdale, Arizona
- Category
- Non-fatal accident
Sources
- FAA FOIA material: https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/foia/2014-009122.pdf
- Air crash chronology: https://www.aircrashconsult.info/April_13_more.html
- FAA FOIA log: https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/foia/2014-009122.pdf
Audio from the original air traffic control recording, sourced from public recordings and released investigation records. The reconstruction, animation and written account are our own.
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