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How did the queen get on to the ship in Aliens?


The camera shows the back of the craft as Bishop takes off, but you don't see any sign of the queen holding on or moving up the ramp.



Answer




UD-4L Cheyenne Dropships have three landing skids; one rear and two fronts. The loading ramp descends (facing) forward of the rear and between the two fronts. The personnel stairway lowers on the port side, which we see is no longer extended once Bishop begins his take off and then gets stuck. Prior to this he's hovering adjacent to the landing pad, during which he's only a few feet directly above it. The entire time, the ramp is not extended but all three gear are.


ramp not extended


Looking at it from behind, we can see that she stowed herself inside the bay of the rear landing gear. She never goes up nor comes down the loading ramp or the stairwell.


Queen grabbing her human prey


The camera does not show the back of the craft or the aft landing skid when the front left one gets caught, which we are too busy looking at. That is when she has an opportunity to climb up the rear one. We never see it happen on-screen but from where she descends leaves little else as a possibility.


What we do see, about two minutes earlier, is their capacity for critical thinking, when she does a "Oh, so that's how it is, eh?" head tilt just before boarding the second elevator and figuring out how to use it. Quietly gaining passage off the now-flaming-rock is probably a good idea too, because the last time one of them took out the pilot it didn't go so well.


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