There’s an old saying: “There are two categories of pilots: Those who have made gear-up landings and those who will.”
Knowing that even some of the best pilots have made gear-up landings, the FAA recently released a video in its 57 Seconds to Safer Flying series, offering some suggestions on how to avoid a gear-up landing.
Gear-up landings rarely have a tragic outcome — except, perhaps to a pilot’s ego — but still are costly and can be avoided by incorporating some of these steps from the FAA.
Gear up landings are NOT inevitable if one disciplines themselves to verbalize the landing checklist/GUMP downwind, base, and final. But the mindset starts earlier. Learn to put the gear down at the same place all the time and it will become habit. For example, midfield downwind. Or, at 5 miles from the airport to avoid in pattern distractions. I fly an amphibious float plane and I put the gear down every time five miles from the airport. And then I use a checklist in the pattern. The checklist every time, all the time, is the key to avoiding a gear up landing. Funny story. I went up a makeshift ramp at a float plane gathering to park in the grass. When I went back into the water I was following another float plane and there were many boats gathered nearby watching. I got distracted and forgot to raise the landing gear. Before takeoff I set flaps 10 and went through my CARS checklist (Clear Area, Water Rudders Up, Stick Back) and shoved the throttle to full. The plane simply dragged in the water. At first I couldn’t figure out why then I glanced at the gear indicator light. They were all green for gear down. After that I added Ramp Exit Gear Up to my checklist.
Take advantage of landing gear extension as an aerodynamic control. PLAN to USE the extra drag produced by the extending landing gear as part of normal airspeed control on Downwind Leg.
When I first transitioned to a retractable 44 years ago, my instructor taught me to always, always, always do 3 GUMPS checks, whether I was flying a standard VFR pattern (downwind, base, final) or an abbreviated VFR pattern (base entry: before reaching base, base, final; straight in: 3 miles, 2 miles, final) or flying an IFR approach (IAF, FAF, short final—or IAF, outer marker, middle marker if available). The gear always, always, always goes down on the first GUMPS—the others are confirming. No exceptions, no excuses.
Even flying a fixed gear as I do mostly, I still follow that same triple GUMPS rule. It works.
Since I often fly solo, in addition to the 3 GUMP checks, I literally point to the 3 gear lights with my index figure to momentarily focus on seeing those 3 lights, not just voicing the check!
Nicely done FAAST team… I like these short safety videos.
I fly an amphib floatplane on occasion where gear position is most critical, especially for water landing. I have adopted the 3-checks rule that I learned back when I started, Downwind, base and final… confirm the gear position – 3 times – visually – gear lights & mirrors ! And 15 years later, I still hear bitchin’ Betty and Max in my head. “Gear Down for Runway Landing” says Max in his gravelly voice on the intercom. Or Betty says “Gear Up for Water Landing” in her higher pitch voice. Bottom line is that it’s key to my checklist flying anything retractable, because I don’t wanna become one of “those guys that will… ”
Nicely done FAAST team… I like these short safety videos.