Lessons Learned: Distraction Identified, E190 Landing Gear Overspeed
Landing gear overspeed involving Embraer E190, VH-A2T, 19 km east of Cairns Airport, Queensland, on July 24, 2025.
An E190 passenger jet’s landing gear was not retracted until the aircraft exceeded the maximum speed to safely do so, after the flight crew became distracted in the takeoff sequence.
The incident occurred when an Alliance Airlines-operated Embraer E190 was taking off from Cairns airport’s runway 15, for a passenger flight to Brisbane.
At 1851 local time on July 24, 2025, the crew of an Alliance Airlines Embraer ERJ 190, registered VH‑A2T, departed Cairns, Queensland, for a passenger transport flight to Brisbane. For the departure, the crew took off from runway 15 with a clearance to follow the AKROM 1 standard instrument departure (SID).
As the aircraft became airborne in darkness, the captain, acting as pilot monitoring, announced “pitch rate” to alert the first officer, who was pilot flying, that the aircraft’s rotation had slowed. Both crewmembers then focused on the aircraft flight path and the retraction of the landing gear was inadvertently omitted.
As the aircraft continued climbing and turning left to follow the SID, the flight crew received 2 radio altimeter annunciations and observed the flight director unexpectedly command a right turn. After completing the left turn to follow the SID, the first officer engaged the autopilot, and the aircraft started a right turn toward terrain. The captain identified the turn and instructed the first officer to turn left back to the required track.
As the aircraft then continued along the SID, the captain recognized that the landing gear was still extended and quickly retracted it. The landing gear completed retracting when the aircraft had reached a speed of 252 kt, 17 kt above the maximum landing gear retraction speed.
The flight continued and the aircraft landed at Brisbane without further incident at 2044. Following the flight, the aircraft was inspected and found to be undamaged.
What the ATSB (Australian Transport Safety Bureau) found
The ATSB found that the “pitch rate” announcement was made at a time when a “positive rate”announcement would normally be expected. This resulted in both flight crewmembers focusing on the pitch angle and the first officer was not prompted to call for landing gear retraction.
As the aircraft turned left to follow the SID, the crew were presented with radio altimeter alerts and unexpected flight director indications. These distractions increased the flight crew’s workload and delayed their identification of the extended landing gear. Upon recognizing the still extended landing gear, the captain reflexively retracted it without first checking the aircraft speed.
What has been done as a result
Alliance Airlines accelerated its program to upgrade E190 aircraft from load 25 avionics to load 27 and at the time of the release of this report, all E190s in the Alliance Airlines fleet have been upgraded. This should prevent recurrence of the unexpected flight management system indications presented to the crew during this incident.
In addition, the load 27 avionics upgrade incorporated electronic checklists that require associated actions to be undertaken before the electronic checklist is completed.
Safety message
This incident highlights the impact a combination of omitted actions and distractions can have on aircraft operations, during what is often a high workload period. Such situations can create challenges in responding to the unexpected with potential for a reduction in safety when pilots act rapidly and reflexively. In these situations, pilots may not be able to effectively process information or consider all relevant factors, which reduces the ability to make good decisions.
Crews of Embraer ERJ 190 aircraft equipped with load 25 avionics should also be aware that, on occasion, these systems may provide unexpected indications. This has been observed on multiple occasions on the Cairns AKROM 1 SID. When faced with unexpected indications, crews should use primary instruments to ensure that flight path requirements are adhered to.
Content/images source/credit: ATSB, “Landing gear overspeed involving Embraer E190, VH-A2T, 19 km east of Cairns Airport, Queensland, on 24 July 2025,” publication date 4/24/2026.
