Unusual Sight Over Slovakia: C-5 Galaxy Flying With Port Main Landing Gear Extended

We were sent images taken of C-5 Galaxy 86-0011 flying over Slovakia with an odd distinction – the aircraft’s port side main landing gear bogey was deployed, despite being at 22,000 feet.

The C-5 Galaxy was flying from Burgas, Bulgaria, to Portsmouth International Airport (Pease) in New Hampshire when captured flying overhead by Ján Kolárik.

After passing over Slovakia and Czechia, the jet descended for and landed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, a major logistics hub for the U.S. military. It is unknown whether this was a scheduled stopover, but we know from transponder data that the aircraft spent around 3.5 hours on the ground.

C-5 overflying Slovakia with an extended main landing gear bogey. | Source: Ján Kolárik Looking at the available transponder data, we can deduce that the landing gear issue was likely identified after takeoff from Burgas. After departure, rather than assuming a normal departure and steady climb to cruise altitude, the aircraft remained at around 10,000 feet for quite some time.

The crew likely elected to stay around this height while consulting with their checklists, and with operations and technical crews via radio and satellite communications. They apparently then received the all-clear to ascend to 22,000 feet and proceed to Ramstein.

The C-5’s main landing gear is a notably complex design, extending initially sideways before rotating all the wheels into the correct orientation. Across the whole aircraft, the landing gear comprises 28 individual wheels. The nose gear unit, which can ‘kneel’ to ease loading onto the forward cargo ramp, has four wheels, while the complex main units each have two six-wheel bogies. These can also turn to aid maneuvering on the ground.

C-5 retracting landing gear and hiding all its 28 (!) tires

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As a logistical hub, Ramstein is familiar with all U.S. Air Force transport types and would be better suited to conduct any necessary repairs on the C-5 to allow onward flight. This issue was, apparently, a relatively simple fix, as the aircraft was able to depart only a short time later and resume its flight at a standard cruising altitude.

Without the C-5 being spotted over Slovakia, we might never have actually known about this interesting (if relatively minor) malfunction.

Many thanks to Ján Kolárik for contributing their images of this C-5 flying overhead.