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A minor tailstrike incident may not be dangerous in itself, but the aircraft may still be weakened and must be thoroughly inspected and repaired if a more disastrous accident is to be avoided later in its operating life.
Tailstrike during takeoff
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In aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...
, a tailstrike or tail strike occurs when the tail or empennage
The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third e ...
of an aircraft strikes the ground or other stationary object. This can happen with a fixed-wing aircraft with tricycle undercarriage, in both takeoff
Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff.
For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a ...
where the pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
rotates the nose up too rapidly, or in landing
Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or ...
where the pilot raises the nose too sharply during final approach, often in attempting to land too near the runway threshold. It can also happen during helicopter operations close to the ground, when the tail inadvertently strikes an obstacle.
A minor tailstrike incident may not be dangerous in itself, but the aircraft may still be weakened and must be thoroughly inspected and repaired if a more disastrous accident is to be avoided later in its operating life.
Protection measures
Fixed-wing aircraft with a conventional tail and tricycle undercarriage are vulnerable to tailstrike. Those which require a high angle of attack on takeoff or landing are especially so. They may be fitted with a protection device such as a small tailwheel (Concorde
The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).
Studies started in 1954, and France an ...
and the Saab Draken
The Saab 35 Draken (; 'The Kite' or 'The Dragon') is a Sweden, Swedish interceptor aircraft, fighter-interceptor developed and manufactured by Saab AB, Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Saab AB, SAAB) between 1955 and 1974. Development of the Saab 35 ...
), tailskid (Diamond DA20
The Diamond DV20/DA20 Katana is an Austrian-designed two-seat general aviation light aircraft. Developed and manufactured by Diamond Aircraft, it was originally produced in Austria as the DV20.
The DV20 shares many features from the earlier Diam ...
), or reinforced tail bumper. The device may be fixed or retractable.
Incident management
Tailstrike incidents are rarely dangerous in themselves, but the aircraft must be thoroughly inspected and repairs may be difficult and expensive if the pressure hull is involved. Inadequate inspections and improper repairs to damaged airframes after a tailstrike have been known to cause catastrophic structural failure long after the tailstrike incident following multiple pressurization cycles.Examples of notable tailstrikes
* Emirates Flight 407, tailstrike on takeoff when correcting for insufficient thrust. * KLM Flight 4805, tailstrike on takeoff while attempting to avoid collision in the Tenerife airport disaster. * Japan_Air_Lines_Flight_123#Tailstrike_incident, improper repairs to a previous tailstrike on landing, resulting in catastrophic failure seven years later. The 520 fatalities made this the deadliest single-aircraft accident in aviation history.{{Cite web, last=Ranter, first=Harro, date=, title=ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 747SR-46 JA8119 Ueno, url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19850812-1, access-date=June 15, 2009, website=aviation-safety.net, publisher=Aviation Safety Network * China Airlines Flight 611, improper repairs to a previous tailstrike on landing, resulting in catastrophic failure twenty-two years later. *Middle East Airlines Flight 304
Metrojet Flight 9268 was an international Air charter, chartered passenger flight, operated by Russian airline Metrojet (Russian airline), Kogalymavia (branded as Metrojet). On 31 October 2015, at 06:13 local time Egypt Standard Time, EST (04: ...
, tailstrike on landing at Cairo International Airport.
* Air India Express Flight 611, severe tailstrike on takeoff following the collapse of the captain's backrest resulting in collision with the localizer antenna and perimeter wall.
References
External links
Tailstrike during takeoff
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