A hatch-actuating mechanism, particularly for aircraft landing gear. The mechanism includes a lateral closing panel (1) and a secondary closing panel (4) articulated to one another. A lateral pivoting fitting (5) is joined to the lateral panel (1) and pivots about a fixed point on the structure (7). A secondary pivoting fitting (8) is joined to the secondary panel (4). A lateral actuating cylinder (10) controls the movement of the lateral panel. An intermediate actuating cylinder controls the movement of the secondary panel, the intermediate actuating cylinder (13) being actuatable independently from the lateral actuating cylinder (10).