Landing gear

[Jennip]

Hello

What are the chances of landing gear not coming down? How often doe it happen and is it safe to land without it? Is it a really serious problem with high odds of fatalities?

Sorry to ask,that's my biggest fear and somone at work was telling me how someone they know was on a Virgin flight that happened to and landed without it.

J x

[MathFox]

Airliners can make safe belly landings... it requires a lot of work from the mechanics afterwards to get them flying again and that's why they have "is landing gear down" on the pre-landing checklist. The plane will get serious scratches and dents at the underside of its body.

Landing gear malfunctions are rare... there are at least two systems to bring the gear up or down (and indicator lights in the cockpit, so the pilots can check.)

[Falcon]

Landing gear not comming down is very rare. A hydraulic failure is likely to be a cause. The 737 has a back up. Three cables under a hatch that manualy cause each wheel to drop. Gravity forces the gear to lock in position. Relax the designers by law had to think of this.