The Smart Marty Sky Dispatch
Passengers on BA flight 'scream after plane tail strikes runway'
A British Airways flight from Amsterdam to Heathrow bounced on the runway after its tail struck the tarmac in a dramatic landing.
Passengers on a British Airways flight experienced a bumpy landing at Heathrow Airport, captured during a live stream by Big Jet TV. The Airbus A321neo flight had arrived from Amsterdam and faced a rough touch-down sequence that included a moment where the tail appeared to scrape the tarmac.
After the initial landing gear touched down, the tail seemingly leaned back and scraped the runway for a split second, then rebounded before the rear fin nearly contacted the ground again. The crew executed a go-around and subsequently completed a second landing on the same aircraft.
The event drew attention on the live stream, with thousands of viewers watching as the landing unfolded. A passenger-related source described screams from those on board, noting that the situation felt irregular to those present.
The incident has been reported to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) for review. Flight-tracking data indicates the BA431 schedule involved an approach to Heathrow around 10:30 a.m. local time, followed by a go-around and a final landing approximately 20 minutes later.
Previous tail-strike incidents at Heathrow have been noted by aviation sources, including a 2023/2024 reference to a tail strike involving a cargo plane from Leipzig, but no further details are provided here about causes, injuries, or outcomes for this specific BA flight.