United Express flight keeps gear down after retraction fault near San Antonio

A United Express regional flight left San Antonio International Airport on Tuesday evening and could not retract its landing gear, according to an account of the occurrence.

Flight UA4053, an Embraer 175 registered N89308, departed San Antonio, Texas, at 19:17 CDT on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, bound for Houston. The aircraft was 12 years old. Shortly after liftoff, the crew reported that a recurring technical problem had returned and the gear would not retract into the wheel wells.

At a safe altitude, the pilots ran standard troubleshooting checklists for the indication, then decided to leave the gear extended and continue to Houston. Flying with the gear down increases drag and limits altitude and speed, but the short distance to the destination allowed the crew to press on. The aircraft landed safely in Houston about 35 minutes after departure, with no further incident reported.