Originally Posted by RatherBeFlying
If the MLG was retracted at impact, I woulod suggest the wing spar holding the gear leg swivel broke away from the structure fuselage taking the gear with it. Perhaps the wing could have pivoted up at impact and once headed down the gear swung to the down position. This is getting complicated.
Occam's razor leans to the crew dropping the gear in an attempt to regain control.
One may cite also H. L. Mencken:
"Explanations exist; they have existed for all time; there is always a well-known solution — neat, plausible, and wrong."
In fact, without a modelization of the impact at sea, including a model showing the sinking of the remaining MLG parts down to 4,000 meters deep, with all surfaces implied, weight, buyancy and pressure effects, it would be very difficult to refer to any simple "law".
Maybe the MLG extended during its fall to the sea bed after being released by impact forces. So far, I'm not sure the MLG would be so preserved (especially the tires) if it had sustained the full initial shock without being stored.