[durt]

British Airways plane hits Heathrow runway in aborted landing during Storm.



A hair-raising moment a the British Airways plane’s tail hit the runway at London Heathrow airport during an aborted landing.

[William May]

I don't know how hard he hit, but the problem with tail strikes is that the rear pressure bulkhead lower edge gets damaged. That is a MAJOR, MAJOR repair. I only saw one of those tail strikes at America West Airlines. The aircraft was down for about 2 months.
Boeing sent a special repair team, and Boeing engineers, down to supervise the repair. The problem is that the seam where the fuselage and the aft pressure bulkhead dome attaches is a critical fatigue area. (Read about the 747 that had an aft pressure bulkhead fail after a previous repair. They lost the aircraft. That's why they send a special repair team, and engineers. Those guys even had special half-length fasteners in case the engineers needed a special size for the repair. They had EVERYTHING you could think of!)
Besides the fatigue failure problem, it is also a spot where ALL the hydraulics come together. There is normally a large panel in the tailcone, which has valves on it, so you can isolate any particular hydraulic system. (So you can lock out a particular system that is being worked on, or has parts removed, while the rest of the hydraulic system can be run for various purposes. You can swing just ONE landing gear, if you want, or anything similar to that. If you shut down ALL the hydraulics while the airplane is in for an inspection, the airplane is basically just an inoperable lump. You HAVE to be able to operate different systems to do repairs and checks. The only drawback is that means the tailcone is vulnerable to damage, like what happened to the airliner in Sioux City, Iowa, that had the rear engine throw a fan disc, and it sliced through that panel, wiping out ALL the hydraulics on the aircraft. The engineers normally figure that if the damage has reached the tailcone, the rest of the aircraft is already shredded, so it doesn't matter, but that isn't always the case.

Also, if that pilot was aware he had had a tail strike, he should NOT have retracted the landing gear, because if all the hydraulics are disappearing while you fly around for another attempt, it means a belly landing. Whereas if the gear is down and locked, at least you are OK to land.

[kellyhound]

that even raised ny heartbeat watching that

[ride]

There are enough of these missed approach/go around videos circulating the internet that I don't want to fly into Heathrow or Gatwick - ever.

[William May]

Originally Posted by ride ↗

There are enough of these missed approach/go around videos circulating the internet that I don't want to fly into Heathrow or Gatwick - ever.

Oh, don't worry!

You'll get there, give or take a couple hundred yards one way or the other.

Probably.

[arsonist_1]

looked like a scuff on the paint, pretty fucking terrifying for the passengers though.

[lrd1024]

I used to work for Delta for 18 years in their I.T. I flew all over .. experienced an unplanned touch and go twice : Mobile, AL and Miami, FL.
It's f***ing scary : the wheels touch and then you hear the engines whine up. I locked on to the arms on the seat with a death-grip, just waiting for that metal crash sound.
Scary.

[bushbarbie]

The a/c didn't suffer a tailstrike, just a balked landing. Gnat's whisker though.

[durt]

Originally Posted by William May ↗

I don't know how hard he hit, but the problem with tail strikes is that the rear pressure bulkhead lower edge gets damaged. That is a MAJOR, MAJOR repair. I only saw one of those tail strikes at America West Airlines. The aircraft was down for about 2 months.
Boeing sent a special repair team, and Boeing engineers, down to supervise the repair. The problem is that the seam where the fuselage and the aft pressure bulkhead dome attaches is a critical fatigue area. (Read about the 747 that had an aft pressure bulkhead fail after a previous repair. They lost the aircraft.

Yes, and this is the JAL 747 failure.

[houseoftechno]

Fatigue: You can only inflate a balloon so many times before it goes "pop."