Russia - Plane crash lands in field after bird strike
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Makes me wonder about whether putting gear down is really the best option in an emergency landing? I mean doesn't gear increase the chances of damage since you fully expect them to rip off after hitting the ground? Could rupture fuel tanks, fuselage? I think manufacturers reason for having them down is that they would soften the impact somewhat.
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Now I don't want to take away from the crew skills that got everyone on the ground safely, but I suspect these guys didn't have time to make any significant decisions. Sully did. So he had to make decisions that could have been wrong but ultimately turned out to be right. All under considerable pressure. But for these guys , at 750 ft? there was really only one place they were going and thank God it wasn't into rough ground.!! Still, they pulled off a text book landing, saved everyone's skins and deserve to wear their wings proudly in the future with their Sully like emergency and same outcome.!!
What about the gear up landing? The checklist says gear down by gravity. So I assume the APU (first item on the checklist) doesn't provide power for the hydraulic pump system operating the landing gear? But at 750 feet.did they even go to the checklist? And if they did, would the APU have even been on speed by they time they hit? Would the gear have only been partially down anyway? i'm thinking gear down anywhere other than a runway is going to be a disaster so, maybe these guys deliberately chose not to lower.. I know 'speculation'...'wait till the report comes' out blah blah, but I just am really curious and I'm not actually speculating anything. Just wondering about the configuration possibilities that may have affected the outcome. Kudos to the crew!!
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What's the name of that checklist? I am not A320 rated but I am also, among with others, curious on what basis the gear should be left down. In my mind it ought to depend on surface. Water, soft ground, hard ground...
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“Emergency landing” checklist. Two versions - gear down on land, gear up on water.
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Wonder if there was a brace announcement... if so quite mind boggling that someone was still filming with their phone in 1 hand all the way down. It worked out OK in this case but if I hear brace for impact I couldn't care less about social media fame at that point.
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If their altitude was only 750ft, I'd simply say there was no time to run through checklists, considering the low speed and nose up attitude of the plane. Really looking forward to the investigation and also to hear/read from the pilots and why they decided whatever they decided.
But, gear up or down: Great job by them, absolutely no question there.
But, gear up or down: Great job by them, absolutely no question there.

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I don't think any checklists apply when you are 750ft off the ground on take-off with full load of pax, full fuel and both engines out. At the risk of being a backseat driver, I think the decision to keep the LG up was the correct one (if it indeed was a conscious decision). They do absorb the impact energy but only if they are fully down. What happens if the impact catches them in transition, nobody knows. Also, LG down during crash landing increases the chance of flipping the craft.
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Checklist
The Checklist is titled:
EMER Landing ALL ENG FAILURE
It’s on the flip side of laminated cards which are located at the side of each pilot (the front side being the Normal checklists).
DITCHING on the left, FORCED LANDING on the right.
The DITCHING checklist states DITCHING Pb ON and LANDING GEAR UP, the FORCED LANDING checklist states SPLRS ARM and LANDING GEAR DOWN.
EMER Landing ALL ENG FAILURE
It’s on the flip side of laminated cards which are located at the side of each pilot (the front side being the Normal checklists).
DITCHING on the left, FORCED LANDING on the right.
The DITCHING checklist states DITCHING Pb ON and LANDING GEAR UP, the FORCED LANDING checklist states SPLRS ARM and LANDING GEAR DOWN.
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Love the people leaving a crash landed aircraft still full of fuel with their handluggage... Time for a central lock on the overhead lockers...
Rant over: great job by the crew
Rant over: great job by the crew

Love the people leaving a crash landed aircraft still full of fuel with their handluggage...
Given the legendary stoicism of most Russians however, I sure some, having seen no immediate danger, would have shrugged and tried to get back on-board to retrieve their luggage before trudging back to the airport to wait for the next flight.
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The Checklist is titled:
EMER Landing ALL ENG FAILURE
It’s on the flip side of laminated cards which are located at the side of each pilot (the front side being the Normal checklists).
DITCHING on the left, FORCED LANDING on the right.
The DITCHING checklist states DITCHING Pb ON and LANDING GEAR UP, the FORCED LANDING checklist states SPLRS ARM and LANDING GEAR DOWN.
EMER Landing ALL ENG FAILURE
It’s on the flip side of laminated cards which are located at the side of each pilot (the front side being the Normal checklists).
DITCHING on the left, FORCED LANDING on the right.
The DITCHING checklist states DITCHING Pb ON and LANDING GEAR UP, the FORCED LANDING checklist states SPLRS ARM and LANDING GEAR DOWN.
That gull looked surprised!
"Shortly after takeoff" could mean 5-10 minutes after (ET302, for example) - a rather different scenario from starting to descend when the gear doors have barely closed, don't you think ?
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There is drone footage on YouTube taken after the incident (can't post due to forum rules). Shows a stream / ditch between the field which the aircraft went over. Wonder if this was why the crew didn't deploy the landing gear!
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