OK VC10, cool yer Conways! I'm not worried about losing face. Although it looks like I'm being misunderstood about my reasons for starting this thread. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the part about AAIB exonorating our engineering dept. But to say that it was a relief would be an understatement!
We did not make the wheel, nor did we overhaul it. But there have been problems with these bearings before. Usually they manifest themselves by producing a noticeable rumble through the airframe, not an instant catastrophic failure.
Unlike the VC10, the A320 does not have electric flying controls and maxaret brakes, so landing without hydraulics, I guess would not cause too much of a problem. But if you did end up scraping an engine on a VC10, then you are seriously in trouble!
I am looking for the reasoning behind the logic in shutting down both engines on the 320 with any abnormal gear config. I can understand that there may be a possibilty of gear collapsing, but how much difference would it make to safety if the engine was running or not? If you consider that by having the engines powered you also have full hydraulic power, you stand a lower risk of the gear collapsing as you have full pressure behind the hydraulic jack and this indication may only be caused by an unmade downlock that would engage on touchdown. You also have the added safety devices such as anti-skid and nosewheel steering to help with a tricky landing. Also if you had a confirmed gear not retracted, then wouldn't you want full flying controls to keep that wing up as long as possible? Without hyds you have no flying controls.