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What happens if for some technical reason the landing gear does not lower? airplane in which you fly? Here we tell you what they do pilots in this situation. Photo by Viktor Forgacs
Perhaps, Have you ever wondered what happens in this situation or you saw some news where a plane had landing gear problems and more than raises doubts about what pilots do, a part of you generated fear to fly.
Although it is not a normal situation or that happens every day, These are situations that can occur., since an airplane is a machine that is exposed to great pressures, extreme weather, high speeds and more, that in the long run could generate failures of various types, for more strict maintenance that airlines comply.
Before getting into the matter, it is important to point out that:
- Not all planes have retractable landing gear., mainly training or general aviation aircraft.
- Each aircraft and manufacturer has its own procedure for this situation..
What do pilots do if the landing gear doesn't go down?
Today we are going to talk about the specific case of Boeing, just for reference, and as we already indicated from plane to plane this procedure changes, but the concept is the same.
In the hypothetical case that the landing gear suffers damage, it is due to maintenance., by impact of some foreign element or by any other situation, there is always a plan B and even C.
regular extension
When the landing gear lever is moved to the DN position, the train doors open, the train unlocks and the GEAR and DOORS lights come on. The train runs on hydraulic power until it is lowered into position.
Latches engage to locked position, all hydraulically actuated gear doors close and main gears hydraulically tilt to flight position. When all the gears are low and locked, gear down lights illuminate and GEAR and DOORS lights turn off.
alternate extension
Reciprocating train extension uses a small electric hydraulic pump to release doors from gears and latches, allowing the landing gear to free fall to the down and locked position.
Fluid within supply line to pump is sufficient for reciprocating extension operation.. This fluid is isolated from the main and secondary hydraulic system. All landing gear doors remain open after alternate extension and gear extended with alternate system, it cannot be retracted again.
In other cases the alternate system is manual and requires "pumping" by the pilots..
What if neither option works?
In this case, the pilots will immediately refer to the QRH or aircraft manual to review the different procedures to follow, whether to try to lower the gear again or decide to make an emergency landing without landing gear.
El QRH ( Quick Reference Guide) tells us, if the main hydraulic system fails, and the secondary too, use the alternate gear extension system and if this does not work it means that one or more wheels is seriously damaged or the tire rubber or part of the landing gear itself such as the shock absorber or actuators or springs that are jamming the fall release the landing gear from its stowed position in the fuselage.
So pilots must plan a landing with whatever landing gear we have available. (If there is one), configure the aircraft by silencing all visible and audible landing gear alarms, find the longest runway and use maximum flaps for landing.
There is no doubt that the last resort of a pilot will be to land "belly" without gear and we have already seen it before, as in this case.:
Situation for which also the pilots are highly qualified and trained.
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Plan B and C, They are related to the same landing gear, if it fails it was worth it, I think 2 things, one that it is an error that at the end of the runway there are walls or other types of obstacles that the plane could crash into and the other, have another alternative which may be a system of smaller additional tires that are not brought when the plane takes flight. Several accidents have already happened and we must consider options to avoid them.
Good analysis Eduardo, thanks for sharing.
When I saw the title, the first thing that came to mind was the image at the end of the post., what things.
Luckily these types of misfortunes are not so bad. Unless PIA Pakistan is the airline involved, sometimes you come across a capable cabin and other times you don't.
Precisely, the one from LOT inspired this installment.
Very poor, the article should have been more supported and explanatory of procedures so that the passenger is truly enlightened
What a pity he missed the opportunity to make an excellent explanation of the alternatives
Help us to complement it please, If you have more support to be able to illustrate it, you can leave it here in the comments or send it to [email protected]. The idea is also that everyone contributes to the community in general.