Is a gear-up landing inevitable?

The first thing I always do is: put that gear down. Only if the gear is down and green do I proceed with my landing checklist. And I have learned to feel and hear the gear coming down. This is number 1. The last thing I do over the TDZ is: check for that damn gear. If I do not see my green light and don’t feel it, I go around. The gear just makes such an incredible drag and noise and the trim has to be set, that it’s quite hard NOT to notice it.

But, yes, in the end it can catch everyone. That’s why I keep my insurance.

And then another thing is that lots of RG (or RU in EASA land) – planes have to be flown quite on the spot. So you need some discipline an the numbers. I have around 800 meters of runway (640 m LDA) so if I don’t nail the speed I won’t do a good landing. All in all it’s a matter of discipline to do it right.

mdoerr wrote:

Your brain just filters the beep after some time, you stop hearing it. Try to fly on a low power setting for some time to set it off. After a few minutes you don’t take notice of the warning. It can happen to everyone.

I think its exactly this. I never let any warning horn to act too long as brain takes it to background. I bet that this crew had as a standard that gear warning is on.
There is also lack of thinking and feeling. I do for my Mooney customers for example practise to approach for landing without gear. To show them that it’s not really possible to maintain any approach speed as aircraft is just speeding up much. They also recognized that they are too fast and what? No conclusion here? .

It can happen to everyone but this guys did a lot to have a problem..

I think preventing a gear up landing (happening at some point due to pilot error) requires something few GA pilots possess in enough amounts: Discipline. You simply must have enough discipline to do the “final check” no matter what other distractions occur. Then there are mechanical faults.

I have no experience with the quoted system but we installed this system on our 177RG 15 years ago. I must admit it probably saved my bacon once when practicing short circuits out of my usual pattern…the throttle-driven alert may or may not have saved me. It always worked flawlessly and was IAS-driven.

Never ever had another gear close call in over 1000 RG landings. Made it a habit to re-check, but it is when you get out of your normal pattern that you need to be triple wary…

Stick to your procedures – always !! In a big traffic circuit landing gear down abeam in down wind. In a shorter traffic circuit better when turning into downwind, flaps are NOT essential at all at this stage. Some aircraft have pneumatic LG and flaps , all or nothing. So you set flaps as required – very late in short final – or no at all. In a direct approach you drop LG at a very lond distance from the airfield , some miles don´t hurt. Point is, you set LG in a situation without any distraction or stress, never wait – for what at all ?? Is it a shame to drop LG veeery early ? All the rest about flaps, mixer , whatever is not very relevant for a landing, you should be capable of landing with a dead engine as well when you keep circuit altitude in base or final stage till you are sure to reach the runway with a dead engine as well – without flaps in doubt – "as required " . This “gliding approach” with idle engine was taught in PPL as standard here for every landing and was simple enough to do even for beginners – in the typical Cessnas at least. With the heavy Yak and huge wooden prop idle engine landing would be a bit dramatic, very steep decend and challenging with an aerobatic roundout most likely. Anyway, drop the LG each time very early in a relaxed situation like mid downwind or a few miles out in direct approach. The rest of settings can be done as required for making it to the runway by watching speeds mostly. Vic

80+ year old pilot in that Aerostar. I’ve seen the pictures and it’s an absolute miracle that thing managed to go around with those bent props – they looked like Dracaena plants! He’s lucky to alive.

So, did the props touch?

A good analogy.

One of my friends had one in his car which went through the odometer and windscreen. He was lucky because the normal result is Glock leg. He admits it was due to carelessness, which is easy to slip into.

Personally I make the flaps conditional on gear position: gear up before retracting flap, and down before extending flap. Originally posted here at least once by RobertL18C. With practice it should become second nature, and more likely to realise something is wrong when it’s not done. The actual method is less important than its consistent application.

Great analogy @MedEwok
I always liked the similarity of flying and guns and the „you have to know you can/will f—k up because you actually simply can’t f—k up, or else severe consequences!“

During mandatory military service after „guard duty“ shifts and handing back the live ammo everybody points the barrel into a sandbox and fires. It’s not supposed to happen, and there are numerous safeguards, but once in a while it makes boom.