Has anyone seen the the landing gear belonging to the destroyed 757-223 pentagon crash up close? It was huge, because it must support a loaded plane weight of 255,000 lbs. with just THREE sets of landing gear.
In the 80s I was there in person, watching a 757 aircraft weight drop in real time during a Boeing Flight Test My company sold Boeing the switching system for the Boeing flight test center, which handles all the down-link telemetry signals for each and every aircraft FAA tested.
The 757-223 aircraft that (supposedly) hit the pentagon wall would have weighed 127,620 lbs. EMPTY.
MAXIMUM takeoff 757-223 weight is 255,000 lbs.
Why is the huge landing gear for 757-223 aircraft MISSING in photos of the pentagon that day?
A massive, solid steel shaft forms the core of the huge shock absorber (below, center) which is also missing.
Solid steel shaft is clearly visible here during a gear swing test, performed while the aircraft rests on jacks (one jack visible right,center):
757 LANDING GEAR SWING TEST
One of two Identical sets of missing landing gear for the 757-223. If anyone has pentagon photos of any remains for THESE MISSING STRUCTURES, please let me know.
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