According to the accepted classification, an aviation disaster is a dangerous occurrence involving an aircraft resulting in the death or disappearance of people, as well as the destruction of the aircraft. This is the most severe type of aviation accident, characterized by the presence of human casualties, unlike an accident.
There are many causes of air crashes. They are classified into several categories: technical failure, human error, terrorism and combat, adverse weather conditions, and air defense errors.
Key features of an air crash [1]:
• Fatality: Death or missing of crew members or passengers.
• Aircraft destruction: Complete destruction or serious damage to an aircraft.
• Incident time: The event occurs during operation—from the start of boarding until the aircraft is completely abandoned after the flight.
The percentage breakdown of causes of air crashes is as follows: 68% – human error; 18% – technical failures; 14% – cause unknown.
Among these causes is a special subgroup of accidents caused by technical imperfections in the landing gear of reusable aircraft. According to global aviation accident statistics, 57% of air crashes occur during takeoff, landing, and braking, 31% during descent, and only 5% during level flight.
The table below shows the most significant aviation accidents associated with technical imperfections of the landing gear (Table ) [2-6].
Table: Statistical Data on Aircraft Landing Gear-Related Accidents
Main Types of Failures and Defects of Aircraft Landing Gear
The landing gear is a highly stressed part of the aircraft airframe, as it bears not only the loads generated during parking, ground movement, takeoff, and landing. In addition to landing loads and dynamic loads during takeoff and landing rolls, the landing gear also experiences significant braking loads due to airfield unevenness.
During operation, the following functional failures are observed in the main landing gear components and assemblies:
• Main landing gear wheels are prone to tire and brake disc failure during taxiing and braking, as well as tire spin, overheating and punctures of tires, leaks of aviation oil from brake cylinder blocks, and cracks in the wheel drum;
• Hydraulic units servicing the landing gear and the retracted and extended position locks are prone to internal leaks, wear of seals, fastening threads, and cracks;
• Landing gear shock absorber struts are prone to wear of friction surfaces due to lack of lubrication, play, undercharging, or overcharging of the struts with oil or nitrogen.
Other chassis failures and defects may also occur during operation:
• Cracks in welds and chassis structural members;
• Seizures and damage to bolts in pivot and bolt joints;
• Damage to wheel bearings, etc.
• Structural components, tires, wheels, and brakes account for 4.6% of all failures.
The following design and engineering solutions are recommended:
– Improvement of wheel brake discs by replacing the disc and brake housing material, and optimization of cooling air flow through the brake;
– Improvement of the brake cylinder;
– Development of a tubeless brake wheel drum with a split housing and material replacement;
- Improvement of the main landing gear retracted position lock;
- Improvement of the fluid flow device in the nose landing gear's pneumatic-hydraulic shock absorber.
Conclusions
Data on major air accidents related to technical deficiencies in the landing gear of reusable aircraft was collected and analyzed. It was noted that such adverse flight incidents most frequently occur during the aircraft's landing and subsequent landing roll, up to the moment the brakes are applied. Takeoff and landing are the most dangerous flight modes. New design changes to domestic military transport aircraft have been proposed and tested, contributing to their safe operation.
References
1. Правила інженерно-авіаційного забезпечення державної авіації України. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z1101-16#Text (дата звернення: 13.03.2026).
2. Статистика крупнейших авиакатастроф мира 1974-2026. – 2026. – URL: https://forinsurer.com/public/17/01/10/3824 (дата звернення: 13.03.2026).
3. Чи дійсно літаки стали падати частіше? Дослідження ВВС. URL: https://nv.ua/ukr/world/countries/aviakatastrof-u-sviti-stalo-bilshe-chi-ce-feyk-ekspertniy-analiz-bbc-shchodo-ostannih-rokiv-50530191.html – 2024. – (дата звернення: 18.02.2026).
4. Найбільші катастрофи в історії цивільної авіації. – 2021. – URL: https://dzudzylo.com/aviatsiya/naybilshi-katastrofy-v-istorii-tsyvilnoi-aviatsii.html. (дата звернення: 15.01.2026).
5. Tiniakov D., Kapitanova L., Makarova L. Analysis of the specific fuel efficiency for preliminary design stage of transport category aircraft variant // IEEE 8th International Conference on Mechanical Engineering and Automation Science. ICMEAS’2022 : proceedings, Wuhan, China, 14–16 Oct. 2022. [S. l.], 2022. P. 252–256. DOI: 10.1109/ICMEAS57305.2022.00054
6. Наймасштабніші авіакатастрофи світу за останні 40 років. – 2025. –URL: https://www.slovoidilo.ua/2020/01/08/infografika/suspilstvo/yaki-najmasshtabnishi-aviakatastrofy-stalysya-sviti-ostanni-40-rokiv. (дата звернення: 18.02.2026).
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