A United 737 MAX 9 landed safely in Houston on Sunday, October 25, 2026, after its crew declared an emergency. Preliminary air-traffic-control communications described a landing gear failure involving the right main gear, but neither United nor the Federal Aviation Administration had confirmed that account at the time of the earliest reporting.
The crew also told controllers it had only 10 to 12 minutes of fuel remaining. That combination turned a reported mechanical problem into a Double Emergency, with the aircraft needing to land while the gear’s condition remained uncertain.
The captain reported “90 souls onboard” and said the “4.9 right main gear would not come down,” with about 4,800 lbs of fuel left. United later counted 83 passengers and six crew members, for a total of 89 people.
United described the event as a mechanical indication, without publicly identifying a landing-gear fault. The airline said:
“United flight 1854 from Grand Cayman to Houston declared an emergency upon landing due to a mechanical indication. The plane landed safely, taxied normally and passengers deplaned at the gate.”
The crew faced a reported gear fault and a shrinking fuel window
After the crew found the right main gear had not locked down, it discontinued the approach and climbed to about 2,700 feet northwest of George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The pilots notified Houston air traffic control and requested a visual inspection.
The captain declared a Mayday. Controllers and a nearby aircraft crew later checked the gear from the air, while the flight crew worked through the problem and prepared for a landing with the gear status unresolved.
The captain told approach control the remaining flight time was no more than 10 to 12 minutes. The account attributed the drop in fuel to the go-around, troubleshooting, checklist work, repeated passes, a change in engine power during the flare and an altered aerodynamic profile.
A full gear malfunction could have forced a belly landing or a touchdown on only one main gear. The airport fire brigade prepared for that possibility, and the crew requested fire trucks and other emergency services.
Two visual checks found the right gear still retracted
The aircraft made two low passes over Runway 8R so the tower could inspect the landing gear. At about 7:30 p.m. Central time, it flew east along the runway below 1,000 feet, then climbed away and circled northwest of the airport.
It returned shortly before 8 p.m., passing the runway at a few hundred feet. Controllers in the tower and the crew of a nearby aircraft said over the radio that the right main landing gear remained fully retracted into the fuselage.
Controllers proposed Runway 9, the airport’s southern east-west runway, in case it had to be closed after touchdown. The crew agreed to use it.
The aircraft’s transponder did not show the 7700 emergency code in ADS-B Exchange data. Crews can declare an emergency by radio without transmitting that code.
The gear extended before the aircraft reached Runway 9
During a final holding pattern, the right main gear extended fully. The plane touched down on Runway 9 at about 8:12 p.m., roughly 43 minutes after its first low pass.
First responders met the aircraft on the runway to check that it could taxi safely. It reached Gate E16 at 8:24 p.m., 27 minutes behind schedule despite leaving Grand Cayman ahead of its usual departure time.
No injuries were reported. United said the plane taxied normally and passengers left it at the gate.
The flight began in Grand Cayman aboard a recently built jet
Flight 1854 was a scheduled twice-weekly service between Grand Cayman and Houston. It departed Owen Roberts International Airport, the main airport serving the British Overseas Territory, at 4:28 p.m. local time, 17 minutes before its customary 4:45 p.m. departure.
The roughly three-hour trip across the Gulf of Mexico proceeded normally during cruise. The aircraft headed toward Texas at 36,000 feet before the crew encountered the issue during descent.
FAA registry records identify the aircraft as N27474, a 737-9 built in 2026. It carries serial number 67665 and CFM LEAP-1B28 engines. Its airworthiness date was August 18, 2026.
The FAA is investigating, while United has not identified the fault
The US Federal Aviation Administration has opened an investigation into the technical cause of the malfunction. United has not said what prompted the “mechanical indication” in its statement or officially identified the fault.
Whether the National Transportation Safety Board would also investigate had not been announced at the time of the earliest reporting.
