A British Airways flight from Amsterdam was forced to abort its landing at Heathrow Airport after its tail struck the runway, prompting screams from passengers on board. The aircraft, carrying hundreds of people, later landed safely on a second attempt.
Flight BA431, an Airbus A321neo, was coming in to touch down at around 11am on Thursday when its tailfin crashed into the ground. The plane hit the tarmac on its left-sided tyres before climbing back into the air, with the scare captured by a nearby plane spotter.
Passengers Describe Terrifying Moment
According to reports from The Sun, a source on board said passengers lurched forward in their seats as pilots tried to control the aircraft. The source said: “This is most irregular. There were screams. No-one knew what was happening.”
“This near-crash is very rare. The plane was buffeted by high winds, but usually the pilots have this scenario under control. An investigation will get to the bottom of what happened,” the source added.
Aircraft Removed From Service
After the aborted touchdown, the twin-jet completed its landing on the second attempt following a one hour 35 minute flight from Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. The aircraft was then taken out of service for engineering checks.
Last night the incident was reported to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, which is tasked with investigating “civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the UK”.
Airline Response
A British Airways spokesperson told The Sun: “The aircraft landed safely and we’re assisting the AAIB with its investigation and are legally unable to comment further at this stage.”
