Cranking the landing gear down is now almost as much of a cliche as foaming the runway. Once it was an accepted practice, but not anymore. Modern jets no longer need hand-cranks, even as an emergency method of extending the gear. The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 that I currently fly has a backup lever concealed behind an oblong access door in the floor under the first officer's leg. Normally the gear is raised and lowered hydraulically by a handle protruding from the forward instrument panel and reachable by both pilots. If that method fails, the emergency lever in the floor is pulled, and the landing gear free-falls into place. Pulling this lever is almost as easy as putting the primary landing gear handle down.
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