In a recent aviation incident, an Air France Airbus A350 experienced a tail strike upon landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Sunday, January 21, 2024. The aircraft, registered as F-HTYH and part of the airline’s fleet for two years, was operating flight AF356 from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) to Toronto.
During the approach to Runway 24L, the wide-body Airbus A350-900 encountered difficulties, leading to a bounced touchdown. This resulted in the tail assembly of the aircraft making contact with the runway surface. Following the tail strike, the flight crew promptly executed a go-around maneuver and successfully completed a second approach to Runway 24L, landing without further issues.
Passenger and Crew Safety: No Injuries Reported Despite Landing Complications
Despite the initial landing mishap, there were no reported injuries among the passengers and crew. However, the aircraft did sustain damage to its fuselage due to the impact. Photographs captured by an observer illustrate the extent of the contact made by the aircraft’s tailplane assembly following the bounced landing.
A tailstrike is a term used in aviation to describe an incident where the tail section of an aircraft makes contact with the ground or another surface. Such incidents can occur during takeoff or landing phases and can be attributed to various causes. In this case, the incident involved a relatively new aircraft in Air France’s fleet, the Airbus A350-900.
Video from inside the A350…
Air France Airbus A350-800 (F-HTYH, built 2021) received substantial damage to its aft fuselage during a tailstrike landing on runway 24L. Flight #AF356 from Paris-CDG initiated a go-around and returned for a safe landing on the same runway about 15 minutes later. No one was… pic.twitter.com/hGOgv3fI6d
— JACDEC (@JacdecNew) January 22, 2024