By Neville D'Cruz

MELBOURNE, Nov 4 (Bernama) -- Two Qantas pilots have been stood down following Monday's incident when they realised the landing wheels have not been lowered when the plane was only 200 metres from landing on the tarmac.

The Boeing 767 flight from Melbourne to Sydney was moments from landing when the pilots noticed the wheels of the plane were not down.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the cause of the near disaster, believed to have been due to a misunderstanding between the pilot and first officer as to who was operating the landing gear, according to a report in The Australian.

The recommended altitude for lowering the wheels is around 600m but Qantas said the error was extremely rare.

Qantas will conduct its own investigation into the incident to decide on what action to take against the pilots.

-- BERNAMA