"Thomas Borchert" wrote

- Landing clearance simply omitted. (should result in go-around)

Actually, that should result in "xxx tower, please verify N12345 is
cleared
to land/option/t&g" in due time in the pattern.

Agreed. However, in this case, as far as I remember, the tower frequency was
so busy that the landing a/c simply did not get a chance to transmit.
Normally, a "N12345 on short final" also usually works.


- Low fly-by to enable tower to inspect a/c (with binoculars) for
possible
landing gear defect.

I have never understood the usefulness of that particular maneuver (sp?).
First, what's the likelyhood of the tower people knowing the slightest
thing
about landing gear and the specifics of the plane flying by?

We had a situation at the local airport where one main wheel fell off on
take-off and remained dangling from the brake line. I'd guess the tower was
able to brief the pilot about the airplane's condition better than the pilot
himself was able to. Whether it made any difference or not, I'm not sure.
(The landing went without any major damage.)