Which statement correctly describes the wing root?

• A. The wing root bears the highest bending loads in flight and during landing.
• B. Wing tip.
• C. Midwing section.
• D. Leading edge.

Answer: (A)

Think of the wing as a cantilever beam fixed where it attaches to the fuselage—the wing root. When the wing generates lift, that lift acts along the span and creates a bending moment that the wing must resist. Because the moment accumulates toward the fixed end, the largest bending load occurs at the wing root. This is true both in flight and during landing when loads from the landing gear are transmitted into that same attachment point. The wing tip is far from the fixed end, so the moment there is much smaller; the midsection doesn’t carry the maximum moment either, and the leading edge is simply the front boundary of the wing, not the location of the greatest bending.