WRT the NRT gear down procedure, the "official" reason may be due to "ice", but one seems to recall that once upon a time a frozen stowaway in the wheelwell was dropped onto a neighbourhood rooftop after the gear was lowered. The unexpected and unnannounced introduction of a "foreign body" was not received well by the populace, and afterwards measures were taken to try to ensure such incidents would not be readily noticed by the public. Much less paperwork that way, without a doubt.
Of course, one's memory is getting faulty, so one is standing by in flame-ready suit for suitable corrections...
