Lowering landing gear whilst enroute?
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Gdansk
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Lowering landing gear whilst enroute?
Hi All,
Not a pilot, but SLF with hundreds of flights flown. I have also worked in aviation (atc and airports) for the last 25 years.
I was on a flight yesterday, where 1hr into a 4hr flight I heard a noise and felt a vibration (for about 1minute) that felt like the spoliers had been deployed (but they weren't, I was sitting behind the wing). I asked the steward about this, and he told me that they had to lower and reraise the landing gear because the gear bay door did not close properly after departure and was causing drag. Apparently a "feature" on this particular aircraft he told me.
In all my flights I have never come across such a procedure. Is this something that still qualifies as "normal" action, or is this highly unusual. Most of all - is it safe to lower gear at this flight stage?
Thanks for your time reading - would be very interested to hear your views.
Not a pilot, but SLF with hundreds of flights flown. I have also worked in aviation (atc and airports) for the last 25 years.
I was on a flight yesterday, where 1hr into a 4hr flight I heard a noise and felt a vibration (for about 1minute) that felt like the spoliers had been deployed (but they weren't, I was sitting behind the wing). I asked the steward about this, and he told me that they had to lower and reraise the landing gear because the gear bay door did not close properly after departure and was causing drag. Apparently a "feature" on this particular aircraft he told me.
In all my flights I have never come across such a procedure. Is this something that still qualifies as "normal" action, or is this highly unusual. Most of all - is it safe to lower gear at this flight stage?
Thanks for your time reading - would be very interested to hear your views.
It is an unusual failure to have (most failures are unusual, we don't fly around having regular failures), but the response is correct, cycle the landing gear. Yes it is safe to lower the landing gear provided the appropriate speed is flown.
Most airline pilots will go their entire careers without having any major failures. Aircraft are reliable, you wouldn't expect, as a passenger or even a pilot, to experience much in the way of failures and their associated procedures.
In all my flights I have never come across such a procedure.
I don't know about Airbus, but in the Boeing I fly you can put the gear down in cruise up to Mach .82 /270 knots.
I've never heard of anyone having a gear problem on departure then climbing to cruise altitude and waiting an hour to fix the issue, so it sounds like the steward was talking out of they/their ass...
I've never heard of anyone having a gear problem on departure then climbing to cruise altitude and waiting an hour to fix the issue, so it sounds like the steward was talking out of they/their ass...
I was on a flight yesterday, where 1hr into a 4hr flight I heard a noise and felt a vibration (for about 1minute) that felt like the spoliers had been deployed (but they weren't, I was sitting behind the wing). I asked the steward about this, and he told me that they had to lower and reraise the landing gear because the gear bay door did not close properly after departure and was causing drag.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Gdansk
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for all your responses. It was a bit disconcerting as there was no announcement from the cockpit either before or after, which is why I asked the cabin crew (it was a wet lease aircraft, maybe pax experience isn't something they care about as much as the regular airline would).
I was also wondering why they would do such a thing so far into the flight, would it be noticeable that the fuel burn was off only after a while? What was also troubling is that the crew seemed to accept this as "normal" - and that they have done the same procedure before on this particular aircraft.
I was also wondering why they would do such a thing so far into the flight, would it be noticeable that the fuel burn was off only after a while? What was also troubling is that the crew seemed to accept this as "normal" - and that they have done the same procedure before on this particular aircraft.
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: I wouldn't know.
Posts: 4,499
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I don't know about Airbus, but in the Boeing I fly you can put the gear down in cruise up to Mach .82 /270 knots.
I've never heard of anyone having a gear problem on departure then climbing to cruise altitude and waiting an hour to fix the issue, so it sounds like the steward was talking out of they/their ass...
I've never heard of anyone having a gear problem on departure then climbing to cruise altitude and waiting an hour to fix the issue, so it sounds like the steward was talking out of they/their ass...
Why a gear event in cruise? Could be the door simply did not latch completely, and after an hour or so of being buffeted by slipstream, popped open a few cms. Probably in itself not even noticeable - but would trigger a GEAR DOOR warning on the cockpit displays.
Pilots followed "normal" procedures (as listed in ECAM or FCOM) to deal with this abnormal event. Slow to Vlo (speed for moving the landing gear) of 250 kts or mach 0.60 - cycle gear down and up.
Why not gab to the passengers about it? You happened to be awake and alert and noticed the gear noise. How many of the other passengers (possibly napping, or wearing headsets to work on their computers or watch a movie) noticed it?
I'd expect an actual announcement ("Houston, we have a problem...") would have disturbed more passengers than saying nothing and simply fixing the problem.
Never forget the priorities for pilots - Aviate, Navigate - and last, and therefore least - Communicate. Forty years of improving CRM (cockpit resource management) have taught us to beware of, and avoid, unnecessary distractions when dealing with a problem, or in any other critical phase of flight.
If the problem could not be solved, and would, perhaps, require a diversion - then (and only then) would the SLF have "a need to know."
Pilots followed "normal" procedures (as listed in ECAM or FCOM) to deal with this abnormal event. Slow to Vlo (speed for moving the landing gear) of 250 kts or mach 0.60 - cycle gear down and up.
Why not gab to the passengers about it? You happened to be awake and alert and noticed the gear noise. How many of the other passengers (possibly napping, or wearing headsets to work on their computers or watch a movie) noticed it?
I'd expect an actual announcement ("Houston, we have a problem...") would have disturbed more passengers than saying nothing and simply fixing the problem.
Never forget the priorities for pilots - Aviate, Navigate - and last, and therefore least - Communicate. Forty years of improving CRM (cockpit resource management) have taught us to beware of, and avoid, unnecessary distractions when dealing with a problem, or in any other critical phase of flight.
If the problem could not be solved, and would, perhaps, require a diversion - then (and only then) would the SLF have "a need to know."
Did exactly that during one flight. Discovered during the flight that the computed fuel burn on the OFP was way too high and that we would land overweight, so we dropped the gear (same limits you quote), and burned a ton extra in just a few minutes and then raised it again. Not a gear problem, just a flight planning system getting confused by the same trip number on two consecutive sectors, tankering and thus leading us to have too much fuel on board.
However an hour into the flight is just the right timescale for PNF to discover you're going to land overweight, for PF to verify the figures, a discusson to occur and some serious drag to be deployed. I've done it.
I know which theory I support.
And if so shame on the flightdeck for being so cowardly as to lie to the cabin crew about it, an action with all too much likelyhood of being found out - as seems to have happened.
It might be useful for the OP to tell what the route was, the diffferential in fuel prices might well be a driver for over-enthusiastic tankering.
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Gdansk
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Why a gear event in cruise?
I'd expect an actual announcement ("Houston, we have a problem...") would have disturbed more passengers than saying nothing and simply fixing the problem.
If the problem could not be solved, and would, perhaps, require a diversion - then (and only then) would the SLF have "a need to know."
I'd expect an actual announcement ("Houston, we have a problem...") would have disturbed more passengers than saying nothing and simply fixing the problem.
If the problem could not be solved, and would, perhaps, require a diversion - then (and only then) would the SLF have "a need to know."
It might not have presented until later. I've had a gear unsafe light come on about an hour into the cruise in a BAe146.
What do you expect when the chosen few are given the odd hundred thousand to play with a multi million dollar toy set with dolly birds waiting to massage their egos!
From one who has never grown up.
From one who has never grown up.
I used to fly cargo and we often had up to 6 Pax/ Jumpseaters. I used to check the tickets or authority to fly and usually referred to them as SLF in a derogatory fashion. ( They were mostly other crew or company staff).
My safety briefings were very brief. " Seat belt, Doors, Oxy mask, Life Jacket and Coffee maker".
Usually had them smiling.