Dear Westhawk and all:
the NTSB has just reported that the landing gear was down on the citation in question and that a cockpit voice recorder has been recovered in good shape.
(associated press article for the above)
BUT very interestingly enough, they have reported that they cannot find any skid marks on the runway, perhaps the plane did not even touchdown. I have heard many witness reports and sometimes the witness is using incorrect terminology. could the witness have said that the gear did not touch the runway and was misquoted as saying the gear wasn't down? who knows?
the hours of transition between full dark and full light and vice versa are among the most difficult for pilots.
if the radar data is correct, it is amazing, do recall that near CARLSBAD airport is the NAS that "top gun" was based on. (miramar) and the famous high speed low altitude pass(?)
jondc9