The emergency procedure was triggered at Elmas Airport when the landing gear extension warning light came on . The aircraft, a Cessna Citation C680A , registration D-CAWL, owned by Aerowest, departed Nice at 9:50 a.m. Its arrival at Cagliari airport was scheduled for 10:50 a.m. Everything went smoothly until the aircraft left Capo Carbonara to stabilize for the ILS procedure for runway 32 at Mario Mameli Airport.
This is where the problems began: after the pilots lowered the landing stick, the fault light came on.
The captain immediately alerted the control tower, declaring an emergency. Within seconds, the rescue operation was underway, with the firefighters ready for any eventuality. The controller ordered a low-level pass for a visual check. This procedure, performed twice, revealed that the landing gear was properly lowered, likely a contact. The Cessna landed at 11:17.
The anomaly forced five other flights arriving in Cagliari (from Rome, Paris, two from Milan, Brussels) to perform holding patterns on the Capo Carbonara VOR.
