Aberdeen-Amory

According to the pilot, the airplane was high and fast on final approach, because of restricted visibility in haze, and he executed a go-around. The pilot and copilot do not recall retracting the landing gear. During the second approach, the pilot stated he did not extended the gear because he was 'sure in his mind that the gear was already down'. The airplane landed with the gear retracted. The airplane slid approximately 3,000 feet. Following the landing, the airplane caught fire under the right wing root, and the fire could not be extinguished with hand held fire extinguishers. Both pilots safely evacuated the airplane.

The non-instrument rated pilot crashed about three hours after taking off with 4 1/2 hours of fuel on board. He crashed while attempting an off airport landing in a large field. The field was located less than half way to his destination. The sheriff reported minimum visibility with snow and freezing rain. The occupant received only minor injuries, but the plane was destroyed by impact and ground fire. An examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of a pre-impact malfunction/failure of the engine or in flight fire. The pilot provided the following account: he was cruising above an overcast at 17,500 feet when the left engine began cutting out and forced him to descend through the clouds; he descended to VFR conditions at 1,200 feet agl over snow covered terrain and determined his location by viewing a water tower. He then elected to land in a field when he saw smoke and fire coming from the engine cowling. While landing, the left wing dropped and touched down first.