Landing gear failure

While the article I have chosen is rather dated, the purpose is to show an in-depth look into the landing gear system. While I fly on a newer C-130 the components haven't changed too much. I have been taught there are two main reasons landing gear can malfunction, hydraulically and electrically. Obviously mechanical issues may happen but isn't as common as the first two mentioned. I have only had two or three landing gear malfunctions and they've all been hydraulic, they have all been cleared out before we had to land belly up however. Landing gear is a massive component and could be the biggest safety issue on the aircraft if lost. Just two years ago there was a C-130 in Little Rock, Arkansas that had it's nose landing gear malfunction and caused serious damage to the plane and could've potentially injured the crew. Preventing this happening is how to work through each type of failure and to follow checklist. This is a type of issue that you will either have no time, or all the time in the world to work through it. Another consideration that should be made is if the airport that you're landing at has runway foam, which could lessen the damage and chances of potential fire. In the end, if you suspect a landing gear failure always notify tower for emergency services. Always err on the side of caution, no one cares about your own safety than yourself after all.






References 

Lockheed Martin landing gear article

C-130 nose landing gear failure 

landing gear image
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qcHHfbBH3HU/maxresdefault.jpg

Comments

  1. J LDecember 2, 2021 at 5:30 AM

    I have never had to deal with retractable landing gear but I have heard stories of how much of a pain it can be to fight through a malfunction. Not to long ago here in Korea there was a RC-7B that did a belly landing but it turned out it wasn't for any malfunction. They just didn't do the proper checks from what I've been told. I have had some friends who have broken landing gear off but it was all helicopters so not as difficult to land, just harder to shut down when the vibrations can get out of control.

    Josh Link

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