A plane left Cairns with its wheels down
Introduction
A plane took off from Cairns Airport on July 24, 2023. The wheels stayed down for about five minutes after takeoff. The plane had 90 people and 4 crew. It landed safely in Brisbane. No one was hurt.
Main Body
The plane took off at night at 6:51 PM. It started to turn left to avoid hills. The pilots were busy watching the plane''s path. The captain did not say "we are climbing." This is a normal call to pull up the wheels. The call did not happen. The wheels stayed down. The pilots heard alarms. The autopilot tried to fly the plane toward a hill. The captain stopped it. The pilots were very busy. After five minutes, they heard a noise and saw a light. The wheels were still down. The plane was going very fast. The captain pulled up the wheels. The plane was going too fast for this action. After the event, the airline put new computers in the plane. The new computers have electronic checklists. These checklists make sure pilots do all the steps.
Conclusion
The investigation said this event shows how missing steps and distractions can cause problems. When pilots are very busy, they can make mistakes. This can be dangerous.