Gravity drop

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Gravity drop refers to the use of gravity to deploy landing gear on an airplane in the event of hydraulic, engine, or power failure. The pilots activate a switch in the cockpit, which releases the lock of the gear door. Gravity then pulls the landing gear outside and deploys it. Once in position the landing gear is ready to use and land on.

[edit] Different gravity drop methods

The method of executing a gravity drop varies across different airplanes. In large Boeing aircraft, the pilot normally operates a switch: the Boeing 767 Gimli Glider's co-pilot Maurice Quintal lowered the landing gear this way. However, a different method is used on the Airbus A300. In 2003, in the DHL shootdown incident in Baghdad, flight engineer Mario Rafoil extended the landing gear by deactivating the locks with a throttle on the floor.