landing gear n. The wheels and attached structures under an airplane that support it and allow it to move when on the ground; also, the floats or pontoons of an amphibious airplane together with their supporting structures. Landing gear may be fixed rigidly in place, or retractable when in flight.
... in his favor was that Kashtanov apparently did not know he was aboard, since the plane had flown evenly, steadily, not trying to shake off the man hanging to its landing gear by somersaulting in the sky. Evidently the jolt as it was rising hadn't warned the unseen pilot; the fog from the broken machine ... — Raiders Invisible • Desmond Winter Hall