Landing Gear Failure

     For this weeks blog post, I chose a system that even the most novice of individuals with a complete lack of knowledge about aircraft would be able to relate to.  That system, is the landing gear.  Everyone knows that landing without wheels or floats is a bad thing, like saying you need an engine to take off or wings to fly. 


    But, let's dive deeper.  There are many indications of landing gear failure.  Those indications can range from a literal light that say "landing gear failure" to nothing but your eyes looking out of the window to verify that the gear is down, and seeing that it isn't.  Landing gear can be either fixed or retractable.  Fixed gear always remains extended and has the advantage of being simple, and low maintenance. Retractable gear is designed to streamline the airplane by allowing the gear to be stowed inside the airplane fuselage or wings in flight(PHAK, 2020).  

    In the Kingair, and most airplanes with retractable gear there are lights you see that corresponds to each of the individual sets of gear, one on the nose, one on the right wing and one on the left wing. When you actuate the lever to put the gear down, the three lights will turn green indicating that each set of gear is down and locked.  Prior to landing, most experienced pilots will do a "career check" to double and triple check to confirm that the landing gear is down and locked. 



    The gear on the wings fold out and lock simply by gravity.  There is a locking mechanism that releases the gear, and the weight of the gear ensures the wheels will lock in place. The nose gear is stowed by an electrical actuator and it folds backward into the fuselage so it's generally not an issue, as the wind from flying forward through the air "helps" if you will, the nose gear fold back into the fuselage. But, to put the gear down and lock it in place, it needs hydraulic pressure from an actuator to help the gear fight the wind and lock in place.

    There are times that you may not see the lights indicating that the gear is down and locked, even if it is, especially the nose gear, due to the reasons described above. To alleviate the stress that could be caused by a burnt out indicator light, Beechcraft added a mirror installed on the inside of the left engine nacelle, which from the proper position in the cockpit would allow the pilot to see in the reflection of the mirror, which position the nose landing gear is in in flight. There is also a manual gear extension, that pumps up a hydraulic reservoir enough to push the gear out and lock the nose landing gear in place if the hydraulic pump fails.  It requires a lot of pumps (approximately 80) to lock the gear in place, but it is a highly effective backup to ensure the landing gear is down and locked for landing.  

References:

U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Flight Standards Service. (2020). Pilot's handbook of aeronautical knowledge.

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