On Jan 22nd 2026, a routine Luxair regional flight to the French Riviera turned into a tense mid-air emergency when a landing gear warning forced the crew to abort their approach and prepare passengers for a possible emergency landing.
The de Havilland Dash 8-400, registered LX-LQA, was operating flight LG-8255 from Luxembourg to Nice with 74 people on board. As the aircraft was descending on approach to Nice, the cockpit crew received an unsafe indication for the right main landing gear, signaling that the gear might not be properly locked for landing. The approach was immediately discontinued, and the aircraft entered a holding pattern while the crew worked through troubleshooting procedures.
As a precaution, the crew shut down the right-hand engine in accordance with procedures and began preparing the cabin for an emergency landing. Passengers were briefed, and the cabin crew instructed everyone to assume brace positions, underscoring the seriousness of the situation as the aircraft set up for a return to the runway.
On final approach, all landing gear struts were visually confirmed to be extended. The Dash 8 touched down safely on runway 04L about 75 minutes after the initial approach was aborted. The aircraft came to a stop on the runway and was unable to taxi, requiring assistance from ground services.
Luxair later confirmed that the crew had acted in response to the unsafe gear indication and that shutting down the engine was part of standard precautionary procedures. No injuries were reported, and passengers were safely disembarked. About eight hours after landing, the aircraft was still on the ground in Nice as inspections and recovery operations continued, while the incident stood as another example of effective crew coordination under pressure.
