A Luxair flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport on Thursday afternoon due to an issue with its landing gear. The aircraft, a De Havilland Dash 8 Q400 operating as flight LG8255 from Luxembourg to Nice, landed safely following the procedure.
In an interview with our colleagues from RTL Télé on Thursday evening, Luxair CEO Gilles Feith explained that during the initial approach, a sensor indicated the right main landing gear was not locked in position. The crew performed standard checklists before proceeding with the landing. As a precaution, the right engine was shut down and passengers were instructed to assume the brace position.
Feith described the event as “an enormously stressful situation”, but praised the calm response of both passengers and crew, noting the landing “went down incredibly smoothly”. After the aircraft came to a stop on the runway, passengers disembarked there and were transported to the terminal. Luxair made psychological support available onsite, which a small number of passengers made use of.
The CEO attributed the incident to a faulty sensor. “After we landed, that sensor turned green for locked”, Feith stated, indicating the gear was likely secure. However, he noted that without the precautions taken, the landing gear could have collapsed because “it wasn’t fully engaged”, which would have damaged the aircraft but rarely leads to passenger injuries.
Luxair dispatched a maintenance team and two auditors to Nice to conduct a full investigation. The crew was scheduled to return to Luxembourg on Thursday evening.
As tracked by the flight monitoring service Flightradar24, the aircraft spent more than an hour circling over the Mediterranean Sea before its successful landing. Flight LG8255 arrived in Nice shortly before 4pm, approximately one hour behind schedule.
One passenger told French newspaper Nice Matin that “some were crying, others were praying. We were all very scared”, while another praised the Luxair staff for their “incredible professionalism”.
Luxair confirmed that all 74 individuals onboard were unharmed. Passengers were transported by bus from the runway to the terminal, where psychological support services were offered.
In response to the emergency, full safety protocols were activated at Nice Airport, including the mobilisation of fire and rescue services. The incident led to a temporary suspension of air traffic at the airport.
The airline stated that a thorough investigation will be conducted to determine the precise cause.
This incident follows another precautionary event last week, when a newly acquired Luxair Embraer E195-E2 aircraft bound for Milan returned to Luxembourg following a sensor alert. Commenting on that event, CEO Gilles Feith defended the fleet renewal, stating that such sensor alerts do not represent a major limitation and that the acquisition of the new aircraft remains the correct strategic decision.
RTL invites anyone who witnessed the events at Nice Airport to contact its editorial team at red@rtl.lu.
