The tail fin of a British Airways jet struck the tarmac as it tried to climb after an aborted landing at Heathrow Airport. The incident happened on January 2 when the aircraft was forced into emergency action on the runway.
An official report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) stated the Airbus A350 plane was approaching Heathrow at the end of a flight from Dubai. The runway surface was wet and "gusty" winds were reported
As the plane neared the airport, crew believed it would not land within the runway touchdown zone in blustery conditions and landing was aborted in a "go-around" procedure. This occurs when pilots decide not to continue an approach, or landing, and instead commence a new landing to divert to another airport.
The report added: "The pilots described the touchdown as firm, but not so severe that it would have constituted a heavy landing. The commander felt the initial pitch was greater than warranted but stated that by the time he could have reacted the co-pilot was already taking corrective action. .The aircraft then became airborne and climbed away in a normal go-around."
The aircraft subsequently landed safely and there were no injuries. There were 326 passengers and 12 crew on board.
The investigation found that a go-around was initiated from low height and low speed. The aircraft had insufficient energy to climb immediately and so touched down during the go-around process. The pitch rate induced by the co-pilot caused the aircraft to reach a nose up attitude sufficient to cause a tailstrike as the aircraft touched down."
It added: “Although the wind conditions at Heathrow were gusty, they were within limits for the approach."
An initial damage assessment found two areas of skin damage on the aircraft tail lower fuselage.
