Gear-up Landings
And how to avoid them
IT WAS A SUNDAY in April 2009 when the private pilot of a retractable-gear (RG) Cessna 172 was practicing a power-off, 180-degree
accuracy landing at Charleston, South Carolina, with one passenger
aboard. The idea was to make a simulated engine-out approach and
maneuver to a touchdown point on the runway. In a retractable-gear
aircraft, the pilot often delays extending the landing gear until a
landing on the runway is assured. In an actual emergency, the pilot
would have to choose whether to extend the landing gear at all or to
land gear-up.
No doubt, the pilot had every intention of extending the gear, but
a distraction occurred. As he pulled back the power and started
down, another aircraft was approaching an
intersecting runway. Thus distracted, the RG
pilot soon found himself in an abnormal sit-
uation—on short final without the gear
extended. Unfortunately, it was one that he
failed to recognize and correct. According to
the pilot’s statement to the National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), he
never noticed the landing gear warning horn
until the aircraft came to a stop gear-up on
the tarmac.
