No it isn’t, but…
The aircraft landing gear handle is electrically locked in the down position when the aircraft is on the ground to prevent accidental raising of the landing gear. If the safety sensors sense weight on the wheels a solenoid locks the gear handle in the down position.
However there is an over ride…
The reason for the override is to overcome failure of the safety system so the gear can be raised if the safety system fails. It is a deliberate action to override the safety system and not likely to be done accidentally.
There are numerous reasons accidents happen but a lot of these gear up incidents are caused by maintenance, one such reason is …. there is a check that needs to be carried out to check the landing gear up hydraulic valves and lines for leaks. When this check is carried out safety locks must be inserted physically on the landing gear. Sometimes this gets forgotten.
Here’s an example of some landing gear locks, each aircraft is different these should be inserted for safety when the aircraft is in maintenance, but as you can see from the previous photos it gets forgotten….
Author – Paul Rigg
