N4325W gear up landing in KASH

[heliUD]

Here's the recording of the Bonanza that made a belly landing in Nashua (KASH) on august 17th.

The clip is a bit long, but there's a lot of interaction between the pilot and the tower controller (which is receiving advices from a local mechanic) about the landing technique, and I thought it would be interesting to leave the whole conversation. You can also hear the controller getting a bit nervous when the pilot aligns himself with the wrong airport (the nearby Manchester airport), I guess stress and fatigue played a role.

I also left an interesting bit at the end about the FAA requests following the landing.

The clip starts with the pilot talking with the local mechanic on the FBO frequency.

http://www.wmur.com/news/24661724/detail.html

http://it.flightaware.com/live/flight/N4325W/history/20100817/1425Z/KBID/KWST

[800MILESAWEEK]

Very good recording.

[StuSEL11]

Part of the problem here is both parties kept stepping on each other...

[englishpilot]

I thought that that pilot sounded quite rude.  Not even a thank you.

[Dave_B]

I thought that that pilot sounded quite rude.  Not even a thank you.

Sorry, but some of us are not as sure as you are about how we would react in that situation. Although for some of us, the utmost courtesy is at the top of our minds, many others would be focused first on saving our bacon the best way we could, and be - gasp - "self-centered". I agree that this situation wasn't the most dire emergency but MANY pilots who had never experienced it would be initially freaked out a bit and perhaps forget their manners.

Once the emergency is over, the pats on the backs and hugs and six-packs can  - and probably did - make their appearance.

[Hollis]

Having 'been there, done that', I can attest to the fact that the last thing on your mind is being courteous.
In one incident, we were quite busy as we approached the threshold, getting both engines feathered, etc. While the pilot was busy concentrating on lining up with the centerline, I was busy flipping switches and getting all systems shut down, all the while with the tower chattering with traffic, when the pilot suddenly yelled 'oh shut up!', at which time I quickly flipped of the radios, then began calling out airspeed and height the rest of the way to touchdown.
And yes, we did share a cold beer afterwards!

[VictorK]

Martinlady references this clip in her latest blog posting:

http://martinlady.wordpress.com/2010/10/12/the-human-connection/

I have to admit, when I listened to it, I had many of the same thoughts...