How does an aircraft anti-skid system contribute to landing safety?

• A. It modulates brake pressure to prevent tire skidding and maintain directional control during braking by preventing wheel lockup.
• B. It increases brake pressure to maximize stopping power regardless of tire temperature.
• C. It locks wheels to prevent yaw during braking.
• D. It pumps hydraulic fluid from reservoir to maintain pressure.

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that an aircraft anti-skid system controls brake pressure to keep the wheels from locking. During landing, heavy braking or slippery runway surfaces can push a wheel toward lockup, which ruins friction, reduces braking effectiveness, and makes steering harder. The anti-skid system constantly monitors each wheel’s speed and, if a wheel starts to slow too quickly (approaching a skid), it rapidly reduces the brake pressure on that wheel. It then releases and reapplies pressure as needed to keep the wheel spinning, so the tire stays in full contact with the runway and can steer the aircraft effectively.

This approach makes braking more effective and safer: it preserves directional control, minimizes tire skidding, and often shortens stopping distance compared with simply applying maximum brake pressure. On wet or contaminated runways, where the risk of lockup is higher, the benefit is even more pronounced.

Other options describe actions like just increasing brake pressure regardless of tire state, locking wheels to prevent yaw, or pumping hydraulic fluid to maintain pressure, which aren’t how anti-skid works. Anti-skid’s purpose is dynamic pressure modulation to prevent wheel lock and maintain control.