A passenger jet bound for Launceston was forced to divert to Melbourne after a critical wing component failed mid-flight due to a maintenance error, investigators have found.
The Alliance Airlines-operated Embraer E190 for QantasLink was approaching Launceston Airport on April 15, 2025 when pilots received multiple warning messages, including a slat failure alert.
The crew ran through emergency checklists before diverting to Melbourne, where they landed safely without flaps on the longer runway.
No passengers were injured in the incident.
An investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) found a torque tube in the left wing’s slat system had disconnected because a locking bolt wasn’t fitted correctly during maintenance.
The aircraft had flown 50 times after the faulty maintenance work, which was carried out between November 2024 and March 2025.
ATSB transport safety director Stuart Godley said the bolt hadn’t been properly inserted because the torque tube was incorrectly positioned during installation.
“In both occurrences, those carrying out and those certifying the torque tube installations did not identify that they had been incorrectly assembled before the aircraft were released back into service,” he said.
Investigators also discovered a second Alliance E190 with an identical problem in its flap drive system.
The errors mirror five similar incidents involving Embraer E-Jets between 2005 and 2011, which prompted the manufacturer to update its maintenance manuals.
Godley said operators should review historical data before undertaking maintenance work.
“Information on previous errors can be available from multiple sources including the manufacturer, national aviation authorities, accident investigation authorities and within operators’ safety management systems,” he said.
Alliance Airlines has since issued a maintenance notice to staff detailing both incidents.
The company has also introduced an additional task card that is automatically issued when work is scheduled on E190 slat system torque tubes.
