A British Airways Airbus A321neo arriving at London Heathrow from Amsterdam struck its tail on the runway twice during landing, prompting the crew to abandon the approach and go around before landing safely on a second attempt.

No injuries were reported. The aircraft, which seats about 200 passengers, was grounded for two days while the incident is examined, the Daily Mirror reported, carrying an account credited to Radio New Zealand.

What happened

The rear of the aircraft made contact with the ground twice as it came in to land. The crew discontinued the landing and climbed away, then brought the aircraft back round for a second approach that was completed without further incident.

The sequence was captured on live aviation streams run by FlightRadar24 and Big Jet TV, both of which broadcast continuous footage of Heathrow arrivals on YouTube.

A tail strike occurs when the rear underside of the fuselage touches the runway, typically from too steep a nose-up angle on landing or take-off. It can cause structural damage that requires inspection before an aircraft returns to service.

The investigation

The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is investigating.

“The aircraft landed safely and we’re assisting the AAIB with its investigation and are legally unable to comment further at this stage,” British Airways said.

Sri Lanka connection

British Airways resumed direct Colombo services in recent months, flying to London Gatwick, as this desk reported in October. The aircraft involved here is a single-aisle A321neo used on short-haul European routes, not a type deployed on the Colombo run, and no filing suggests any effect on that service.

Sourcing note

Only one verified newsroom reached for this report has carried the story. The Daily Mirror’s account is credited to Radio New Zealand rather than to its own reporting, so this is effectively a single-source report of an agency filing.

Not reported

The filing does not give the flight number, the date and time of the incident, the number of passengers and crew actually on board, or the extent of any damage found. It does not say whether the aircraft has since returned to service.