Strong Winds Nearly Toppled A Plane Landing In London & It Actually Scraped The Runway
Talk about turbulence 😬
A plane landing at London's Heathrow Airport had to perform a touch-and-go after strong winds messed up its runway landing.
Video captured on Monday shows a British Airways Airbus 321 aborting a landing due to the fierce winds, which nearly toppled it over on one side.
The video shows the plane bouncing and banking left before the tail strikes the runway. The pilot then speeds up and takes off again for a second attempt.
A321 TOGA and Tail Strike!\nA full-on Touch and go, with a tail strike! Watch for the paint dust after contact and watch the empennage shaking as it drags. The pilot deserves a medal! BA training could use this in a scenario - happy to send the footage chaps \n#aviation #AvGeekpic.twitter.com/ibXjmVJGiT— BIG JET TV (@BIG JET TV) 1643660014
Aircraft enthusiast Jerry Dyer, who recorded the incident for his website Big Jet TV, posted his take about the incident on LinkedIn.
He explained that "completely random and unexpected" were gusting around the runway, and they likely "would've caught-out even the most seasoned pilot."
He added that only the pilot will ever know exactly what happened, "but I’d certainly like to buy them a drink. All the end credits go to the Pilot, who saved it 💪💨 "
Dyer also pointed out that the tail appeared to just "brush" the runway, although that's still enough to warrant an inspection.
"There's a definite 'puff' of dust, probably paint, but the tail certainly looks to make contact," wrote Dyer.
Dyer credited much of the eventual safe landing to the training the pilots had.
British Airways also praised the pilots in a statement afterward.
"Our pilots are highly trained to manage a range of scenarios, including extreme weather conditions, and our flight crew landed the aircraft safely. Our customers and crew all disembarked as normal," British Airways said in a statement to multiple outlets, including the Independent.
Pilots are trained on various manoeuvres in case something goes wrong. The touch-and-go landing typically occurs when a pilot needs to abort a landing and get the plane back up in the air in order to attempt another landing.
Thankfully nobody was injured, but we can imagine that the passengers might be quick to put on their seatbelts the next time they hear about turbulence.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.