Definition
A landing in which a retractable-gear airplane touches down with the landing gear retracted, causing the fuselage, propeller, and underside structure to contact the runway surface.
Plain English
Landing the airplane with the wheels still tucked up inside it, so the body of the aircraft slides along the runway instead of rolling on tires.
Context Anchor
Encountered in retractable-gear airplane training, landing checklist use, and go-around discussions when the pilot must confirm the wheels are down before landing.
Derivation
Gear originally meant equipment or apparatus. In aviation, landing gear means the equipment that supports the airplane on the ground, including the wheels. Gear-up means that equipment is still raised or not fully down when the airplane reaches the runway.
Why Pilots Care
A gear-up landing risks propeller strike, engine damage, and airframe harm, requiring careful surface selection and post-landing procedures.
Intuition Check
Gear-up does not mean the airplane is climbing or pointing upward. It means the landing gear, the wheels and supports used for landing, is still up or not locked down when landing is attempted.
Example Sentence 1
Distracted by the go-around, the pilot rejoined the pattern and almost made a gear-up landing before the tower called out the still-retracted gear.
Example Sentence 2
The instructor demonstrated a gear-up landing technique during the simulated hydraulic emergency.