Landing Gear Emergencies

 Landing Gear Emergencies

    A lot of problems can occur when flying an aircraft, and one of the most problematic would be having an issue lowering the landing gear. When most people fly the most tense time is usually upon landing. This is when the aircraft touches down on the ground at a high speed. Now imagine not having any wheels to make contact with the runway. This is where the landing gear comes into play.

    Most modern aircraft landing gear will tuck up into the aircraft to help reduce interference drag and form drag. Most aircrafts use hydraulic systems to operate the landing gear. For example, the C-130 has a hydraulically retractable tricycle type (Janes 2020). Each main unit has two wheels in tandem, retracting into fairings built on the sides of the fuselage (Janes 2020). This means that the main landing gear has two tires one forward and one aft on each side. Two tires assist the nose steering and tuck into the fuselage when flying.

    Landing Gear Emergency Extension Systems

https://www.aircraftsystemstech.com/p/landing-gear-emergency-extension-systems.html


    The landing gear is controlled by a lever found in the flight deck. When the wheels are off the ground the weight on wheel switch (squat switch) will be activated, allowing the landing gear to retract. When landing gear is up there are signs to show that the gear is up, in transition, or down, and safe to land. Most aircraft have a fail-safe if the hydraulic system is not operating properly. Some of these backup systems consist of pulling an emergency extension lever for the gear to free fall and get locked in place by mechanical linkage (down lock) to ensure the gear cannot go up (Aeronautics Guide). Some other aircraft  also have mechanical ways to lower a gear by using a tool stored in the aircraft.

    The last way to land an airplane with a landing gear malfunction would be to land it on the belly of the fuselage. This way is a last-ditch effort to not have total loss of the aircraft. This is very rare for this to happen and the plane can still land successfully with no deaths. So next time you are flying and are worried about the gear not coming down, know there is always a backup to keep you safe.


Aeronautics Guide:

https://www.aircraftsystemstech.com/p/landing-gear-emergency-extension-systems.html

Janes 2020: https://customer-janes-com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/Janes/Display/JAU_1600-JAU_



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