During landing, the gear must be in which condition?

• A. Up
• B. Down and locked
• C. Down and unlocked
• D. In transit

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that at touchdown the landing gear must be fully extended and securely locked to form a rigid, load-bearing support for the airplane. When the gear is down and locked, the struts are in the correct position to absorb the impact and carry the weight of the aircraft, with the locking mechanism preventing retraction under load. If the gear were down but unlocked, it could potentially collapse or retract when the aircraft loads on touchdown. If the gear were up, there would be no wheels to contact the runway, leading to a dangerous landing on the airframe. If the gear were in transit, it isn’t fully deployed or locked yet, so it wouldn’t provide the required stability and load distribution at the moment of touchdown.