Given that the plane was on battery power when it landed, a ground crew may not have still had contact and control of the aircraft. In the case of the "Gimli G

Given that the plane was on battery power when it landed, a ground crew may not have still had contact and control of the aircraft. In the case of the "Gimli Glider" mentioned below, there was a total power failure due to fuel exhaustion and IIRC the pilots had to crank down the nosewheel by hand.