gear up landing: "There are those who have, and..."

" wrote:


I've seen gear-ups performed by retractable newbies
and 10,000+ hr. pilots. A combination of distractions at the right
time can sink the best of them. When I based at PHX, I once watched a
commercial 737 come down short final with the gear up. They were
coming back around for the second time after going around for traffic
on the runway. While on the go around, they reported a problem with an
engine indicator. It distracted them enough that they missed putting
the gear down. Fortunately, the tower caught it and let them know and
they went around again.

John Deakin wrote a good article on this subject on Avweb, about
almost landing a 747 gear up.
http://www.avweb.com/news/columns/188536-1.html
I also read an investigation report about someone almost doing it in a
Learjet on a check flight. They went around when they felt the VHF
antenna drag on the runway!
http://www.atsb.gov.au/aviation/occu...ail.cfm?ID=220
The PIC (the instructor) is listed as having 17000 hours, 3000 on
type.

"Maule Driver" wrote in message . com...
I've always understood the message in that saying to be, "never think you've become so proficient that you are not
subject to leaving the gear up" Not fatalistic but a warning to the wise.

A corollary: "Whatever your method for remembering to get the gear down, remember no method is foolproof."

Bob G said that "IMHO saying (internally) something like "three greens" at least twice before short final should
eliminate the possibility of landing gear up. Worked for me." I'd say, "so far..." with considerable respect Bob..

There's always SOMETHING that can screw up your short final planning (e.g. bird strike, a streaker) and cause you to
forget. If you haven't seen that SOMETHING yet, just keep living.

I almost did it in my glider despite a foolproof method that worked for 1000 hours and hundreds of non-standard
patterns and landings. Fortunately it happened during a contest and an observant ground crew radioed me 10 feet off
the ground.



P-3 in Hawaii shooting low approaches into Lihue airport on Kauai. They decided to do one all the way down to landing,
and you guessed it. The airport was closed the rest of the day while they got it off the runway...

"gatt" wrote in message
...

"...those who will forgot to lower their landing gear."

Was told this by a guest instructor. I'm not at all comfortable with
this.

Thoughts?

The "secret" in proving this prophecy false is called a "consistent
habit pattern"
You should naturally always perform a pre-landing checklist for the
airplane you're flying, and in addition, I always tacked on an extra
check that I completed on final REGARDLESS of all other checks
completed, and that check was a GUMP touch and verify check redone on
final. There are pilots who would be satisfied with the execution of a
normal pre-landing checklist done at the "proper" time. I am not one of
those pilots! I do the pre-landing checklist, then I double check with
an extra GUMP check TRIGGERED by my being on final.
There will be times when you will be interrupted or distracted DURING a
pre-landing checklist procedure. It could be ATC asking you for
something, or directing you to do something. It could be a fly on the
windshield becoming an airplane heading right at you at your altitude.
It could be anything! One split second's distraction away from the
checklist has caused many an accident that could have been prevented by
a simple triggered final abbreviated re-check on final.
On final, I ALWAYS made that one last GUMP check......out loud to
myself........YOU SAY ITYOU TOUCH ITAND YOU VERIFY IT'S
RIGHT
EVERY TIME.
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/CFI Retired
for private email; make necessary changes between ( )
dhenriques(at)(delete all this)earthlink(dot)net

In article ,
"gatt" wrote:

"...those who will forgot to lower their landing gear."

Was told this by a guest instructor. I'm not at all comfortable with this.

Thoughts?

-c


About 40 years ago, I was at the old North American surplus store
(looking out over the approach to LAX) and saw a DC-4 on short final
(about 100 feet in the air) with gear up. As they passed, I saw the
mains and nose gear drop into position.

Five years ago, during our annual bonfire here at Spruce Creek, with
about 1000 people as witnesses, a Cessna P210 did a gear up landing in
front of everybody. I was talking to some friends when I heard "Thump!
Thump! Thump!, scraaaaape!) and turned to see the P210 sliding to a
halt. That was one expensive evening's entertainment!

actually.. there are three groups... and you are always in one of the
three... hopefully you always remain in group 1 and never transition to
group 2 which holds dual citizenship with group 3

1) There are those that will..
2) There are those that have..
3) There are those that will again..

BT
(and doing that Gumps check to hopefully remain in Group1)


"gatt" wrote in message
...

"...those who will forgot to lower their landing gear."

Was told this by a guest instructor. I'm not at all comfortable with
this.

Thoughts?

-c

I've made hundredes of gear up landings...all of them intentional.


Of course they were on water in an amphibian!!!!ggg
Nearly got suckered into a gear up landing with a Twin Beech. Short
final behind a Cessna. Just as I was about to declare a "go around" the
Cessna landed short and taxied off the runway. I was headed for the far
end of a 6000' runway and was cleared to land. I had already cycled the
gear UP and flaps to take-off and had added power when the tower
cleared me to land. I immediately reduced power and only my usual
"short final" check of gear, props, mixture saved us from getting that
sinking feeling and the terrible noise that follows. I still followed
through with an orderly go-around and thought about how the events
could have caused a gear up landing. Simply reinforced my routine last
check on short final to insure gear down and welded or three green.
Ol S&B

In article ,
"gatt" wrote:

"...those who will forgot to lower their landing gear."

Was told this by a guest instructor. I'm not at all comfortable with this.

Thoughts?

-c

That's what they used to say about ground looping a tail dragger.

Your instructor's point seems far less apt.

--
Ron Parsons