- Apr 10, 2013
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Flight data recorder will show whether or not the pilots deployed the landing gear and subsequently got a display indicating they’re down and locked. Also, the pilots would be heard on the cockpit voice recorder calling out landing gear deployment, flaps, and other stuff on their landing checklist.
Could be they got displays the gear was down when it really wasn’t, which would obviously point to some sort of malfunction.
They also wouldn’t have been the first nor last flight crew to somehow miss their gear deployment during the landing checklist. It happens.
Just watched an Air Disasters episode that concluded the very experienced Captain and First Officer of a NW flight departing Detroit back in the 80s failed to deploy wing flaps and slats during their preflight checklist. Flaps and slats provide much needed lift and without them deployed the plane crashed on takeoff killing all but one I think it was. All pilots know how crucial flaps and slats and locked landing gear are to getting a plane safely off the ground and back down again, yet they still on occasion make deadly mistakes.
Being an owner of a Global 5000 and a licensed pilot, I can tell you that it was pilot error.