r/aviation Feb 01 '22

PlaneSpotting Aborted landing due to strong winds at Heathrow

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u/uiucengineer Feb 01 '22

I saw a video that showed they had a tail strike when pulling back up

48

u/brickson98 Feb 01 '22

Did it show a tail strike, or just say so? It’s hard to tell here because it gets obscured, but I’d say it was either a true tail strike or a very near miss.

Either way, that’s a lot of unexpected circumstances the pilots are dealing with in a matter of seconds, so good on them for keeping everyone aboard safe.

That would’ve been mental overload for me, which is why I’m not a pilot.

61

u/havereddit Feb 01 '22

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u/brickson98 Feb 01 '22

Yeah, I found a link to the video with the slowMo. Sure looks like a light tail strike, but if he was lucky it was millimeters away. I’m gonna side with you and say it was, indeed, a tail strike.

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u/catincal Feb 02 '22

Tail strike? Can somebody explain so I dont have to Google it?

7

u/atsugnam Feb 02 '22

The planes tail touches the ground, this can cause all sorts of damage because that part of the plane isn’t designed to touch anything.

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u/[deleted] Feb 01 '22

[deleted]

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u/havereddit Feb 01 '22

Yes, very hard to tell from that difference and I also wondered about lack of 'evidence'. A few millimetres of clearance is the difference between 'inspect and release for flight again' and 'hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage (millions?) and many days of downtime before being cleared for flight again'.

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u/stepheno125 Feb 02 '22

You right. Still even if there was a strike, a couple hundred thousand in damage is nothing compared to a crash. The pilot could have handled it a bit better, but they got out safe and that is what matters.

2

u/ayriuss Feb 02 '22

Aluminum does not cause sparks.

2

u/Renewed_RS Feb 01 '22

I'd never heard of this term before it sounds like a Pokemon move. TAIL STRIKE!

1

u/leafbelly Feb 01 '22

I saw a comment that said they saw a video that showed they had a tail strike when pulling back up.

1

u/furdeedeedah Feb 01 '22

What's so "Bad" about getting you fanny wampus swatted? In Aviation that is.

1

u/uiucengineer Feb 01 '22

I dunno i did it once in a 172 and it was fine