TAIL STRIKE! PLEASE READ DESCRIPTION BELOW 👇

Last Sunday we witnessed a Go-Around from a British Airways A350. Nothing special, but at the time it seemed ‘odd’ due to how far down the runway the aircraft climbed-out. I assumed it was a Touch and Go, but why?

What was even more odd, was the craziness that ensued: multiple aircraft on approach to 27L were told to Go-Around. The Southern Runway was also closed for a short while whilst the runway was inspected. We had mixed reports coming-in, but it became evident, from people giving reports from the emergency services at Heathrow, that BA104 had indeed had a tail strike. Later news and pictures confirmed this.

So, what is a tail strike and how serious can it be for the aircraft?

A tail strike is a very rare occurrence, we’ve seen a few near-miss situations like the one here at the front-end of the video. But in general, it’s very rare these days to see it happen. Most modern aircraft are fitted with a sensor and/or even an extended ‘skid’. If the sensor comes into contact with the runway, the onboard systems will notify the pilot(s) of it happening. Tail strikes can occur during landing or takeoff. In this instance, weather it was due to the windy conditions or just simple human error, we will never know. I’m not sure if a tail strike, especially one (like this) which was a ‘brush’ with the runway and not a ‘hard hit’, would result in a touch and go as was the case here. It could be that the aircraft was slightly off-track or maybe even too far down the runway, which would certainly result in a Touch and Go.

The skin of a conventional aircraft is aluminium, so a tail strike on a conventional aircraft can result in buckling of the skin, which would mean replacement panelling and time in maintenance. The bulkhead assembly would also be inspected for possible damage. This all depends on the severity of the strike.

In the case of the Airbus A350, this is a Carbon Composite material and is therefore, although still subjected to the same rigorous checks, potentially be less critical. Although a HARD hit would likely result in more structural damage The case here was literally like ‘skimming’ the surface and, after a full check, G--XWBC is returning to service this week.
#avgeek #aviation #planespotting #jetblast #itsbetterlive

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Видео TAIL STRIKE! PLEASE READ DESCRIPTION BELOW 👇 канала BIG JET TV