22 May 202512:56 reconstruction27K views

Landing Gear Failure Forced a Cessna 401 Into a Gear-Up Landing

Timeline

22 May 2025 — Cessna 401 N3239Q was operating a Part 91 flight test at Arlington Municipal Airport.

Third traffic pattern — The left landing-gear system failed.

Approximately 12:41–12:42 p.m. local — The aircraft approached with the gear retracted.

Emergency preparation — The runway was covered with foam.

Landing — The Cessna 401 completed a gear-up landing and slid to a stop.

After landing — Two occupants exited uninjured.

Final investigation — NTSB determined that the left landing-gear system failure and intentional gear-up landing were the probable cause.

The gear problem developed during a flight test

On 22 May 2025, Cessna 401 N3239Q was operating at Arlington Municipal Airport in Texas during a Part 91 flight test. The aircraft had undergone extensive maintenance and an annual inspection before being flown for the first time in about 25 years. During the third traffic pattern, the landing-gear system developed a failure that left the aircraft unable to configure normally for landing.

The left gear system failed

According to the NTSB final report, the pilot reported that the left landing gear strut over-extended and jammed into the wheel well. The pilot also reported that the left main landing gear bell crank was fractured and appeared possibly to have been damaged during a previous gear-up landing in 1998. The aircraft therefore had a documented mechanical problem rather than an unsupported assumption that the pilot simply forgot the gear.

The runway was prepared with foam

The aircraft approached Arlington with its landing gear retracted. Airport emergency crews covered the runway with foam before touchdown. The Cessna then landed on the prepared surface at approximately 12:41–12:42 p.m. local time and slid to a stop. Two people were aboard and neither was injured.

A safe outcome did not mean no aircraft damage

The landing avoided injury but produced substantial damage to the lower fuselage. The event is therefore best classified as a non-fatal accident rather than a harmless precautionary landing. The combination of a documented gear-system failure, runway preparation and a controlled gear-up landing explains both the damage and the safe outcome.

The final NTSB record also establishes that the accident occurred during a flight test after extensive maintenance and an annual inspection. That context is more important than the original video's dramatic framing because it identifies a concrete mechanical history. The left landing gear system failed, the pilot deliberately landed gear-up, and the lower fuselage sustained substantial damage. The two occupants nevertheless escaped injury.

The Landing-Gear Failure Was the Final Finding

The NTSB probable-cause finding states: ‘The failure of the left landing gear system and subsequent intentional gear up landing.’

Aircraft: Cessna 401 N3239Q
Date: 22 May 2025
Location: Arlington, Texas
Category: Non-fatal accident

Sources

NTSB final report CEN25LA185: https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/200214/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.