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gear up landings...

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  • #1

    gear up landings...

    Just a quick one - is there any standard operating procedure for a landing gear malfunction?

    The other day, one of Australia's F111s did a belly landing (apparently the first done by an F111, ever).

    http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117...67-421,00.html

    Wouldn't it be safer/better/more sensible to just eject?

    Is there a standard decision making process that pilots go through regarding this? I know in a typical passenger jet you don't really have a choice, but i thought with military aircraft the eject option would be pretty sensible...
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  • #2
    Originally posted by nutter
    ...Wouldn't it be safer/better/more sensible to just eject?
    Yikes! I think the only time ejection should be considered an option during a landing gear malfunction is:
    1. A carrier landing
    2. ordinance or fuel in external stores that cannot be dropped.

    Gear up landings happen all the time. It is much safer than ejecting. Damage to the AC is usually minimal.

    As we say, there are two kinds of pilots- those who have made gear-up landings, and those who will...
    "We will go through our federal budget – page by page, line by line – eliminating those programs we don’t need, and insisting that those we do operate in a sensible cost-effective way." -President Barack Obama 11/25/2008

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    • #3
      Originally posted by highsea
      Yikes! I think the only time ejection should be considered an option during a landing gear malfunction is:
      1. A carrier landing
      2. ordinance or fuel in external stores that cannot be dropped.

      Gear up landings happen all the time. It is much safer than ejecting. Damage to the AC is usually minimal.

      As we say, there are two kinds of pilots- those who have made gear-up landings, and those who will...
      I tend to agree it is much safer than ejecting. I would think that damage would be pretty heavy though as you might grind into the structural bulkheads. Or do you think the aircraft would stop before it got that far??

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      • #4
        Even if the aircraft is totalled during a gear up landing, you can at least salvage some parts off it.

        Ejecting means the plane will plunge to earth and there'll be nothing left. Also, it's not very safe in a densely populated area if you happened to be around one.
        "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

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        • #5
          Just like the 4th of July...

          Originally posted by jgetti
          I tend to agree it is much safer than ejecting. I would think that damage would be pretty heavy though as you might grind into the structural bulkheads. Or do you think the aircraft would stop before it got that far??
          I've seen gear up landings with propeller driven aircraft and it can only be described as spectacular! The aluminum and magnesium parts of the aircraft in contact with the runway at high speed create a huge plume of sparks, flame and smoke towering over the aircraft. I can't even imagine doing the same thing at double (triple?!) the speed in a multiton jet aircraft! Better wear your brown pants!
          Reddite igitur quae sunt Caesaris Caesari et quae sunt Dei Deo
          (Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things which are God's)

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          • #6
            Originally posted by jgetti
            ...I would think that damage would be pretty heavy though as you might grind into the structural bulkheads. Or do you think the aircraft would stop before it got that far??
            As has been noted, the light show is pretty spectacular, lol. But most of the time it'the damage is limited to the skin of the plane, gear doors, etc. Even if there is structural damage, as gunnut mentioned, there is a lot that can be salvaged, and no risk of the plane hitting the ground in some neighborhood or schoolyard.

            In a prop plane, the ground strike requires a teardown of the engine, naturally. But safety crews will have the runway foamed and ready if the gear-up is intentional.

            Even the Raptor that slammed into the ground in that video was repaired, and it hit very hard.

            The vast majority of gear-ups happen with general aviation aircraft where the pilot simply forgets to extend the gear. Just about the time the pilot realizes what's going on, the prop strikes, and it's too late to apply power and go around.

            It's the two-out-of-three wheels down that's scary, or the cases where one main collapses on touchdown. I've seen vids of jetliners that landed with no nosegear, that's pretty spectacular too.

            I would always prefer to fly the plane down, regardless. In a fighter, you can always punch out on the ground if things go sour, and at least you tried to save the plane.

            All pilot training, even privates, touch on gear-up procedures at some level.
            "We will go through our federal budget – page by page, line by line – eliminating those programs we don’t need, and insisting that those we do operate in a sensible cost-effective way." -President Barack Obama 11/25/2008

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            • #7
              Ah, fair enough - i was aware it did happen from time to time with light aircraft, but i thought military aircraft wouldn't try it so often because the damage would be quite bad.

              If the damage is usually superficial then no worries I guess :D

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              • #8
                Nutter, you might enjoy this thread from F-16.net.

                http://www.f-16.net/modules.php?op=m...hlight=landing
                "We will go through our federal budget – page by page, line by line – eliminating those programs we don’t need, and insisting that those we do operate in a sensible cost-effective way." -President Barack Obama 11/25/2008

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by highsea
                  Nutter, you might enjoy this thread from F-16.net.

                  http://www.f-16.net/modules.php?op=m...hlight=landing

                  Heh, landing on a centreline tank... fear :D

                  I guess in hindsight it's probably not so risky (it's not like you're just slamming it down like it was dropped - low sink rate...)... not something I'd really want to experience though ;)

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                  • #10
                    Anyone see the spectacular gear-up landing of a Russian Knights Sukhoi-27?Theres a video of it.Possibly the only design to pull this off...Pilot forgets to lower gear,brings it down smoooth,aircraft slides down runway,sparks and all,except the only parts touching the ground are the 2 weapons pylons under the engine nacelles.Crane is brought in,lifts aircraft,wheels deployed,inspection for damage,none!Pilot flies plane out.Bloody brilliant or what.

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