Qantas Airways suspended two pilots after a Boeing 767 they were piloting came within 700 feet of landing in Sydney before they realized the jetliner's landing gears weren't lowered.

The Australian airline has begun an investigation into the Oct. 26 incident and the pilots, who were flying from Melbourne, were to be interviewed by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

The pilots "realized that they weren't properly configured for the approach" and pulled up, a Qantas spokesman said, adding that they were also alerted by the cockpit warning system. "There was no risk of the aircraft landing without its gear."

A failure to lower landing gear is "an extremely rare occurrence," Qantas said in an e-mailed statement. "The flight crew knew all required procedures but there was a brief communications breakdown," the company said. "The incident was reported to the ATSB and the pilots were stood down. We are supporting the ATSB's investigation and our own investigations will determine what further action might be warranted," the airline added.