A large Air France Airbus A350 hit the runway with its rear end and was damaged while landing in Toronto.
During flight AF356 from Paris to Toronto Pearson Airport, the plane bounced sideways on landing and the tail of the aircraft struck the runway, AviationSource News reported. In response to the incident, the crew immediately initiated the procedure to cancel the landing and re-prepare for landing on the same runway. The second approach was successful, and the aircraft landed without further incident.
There were no reports of injuries among passengers or crew, but the aircraft suffered damage to the fuselage of the F-HTYH due to the impact, which can be seen in photographs of eyewitnesses that circulated online.
Air France Airbus A350 was damaged during landing attempt at Toronto https://t.co/Wgpq11mzc5
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Experts call such cases “tail strikes” — when the rear of the plane touches the ground during landing due to factors such as the hardness of the landing, pilot error or atmospheric conditions.
Following the incident, Air France said the aircraft would undergo a thorough technical inspection and repairs before future flights to ensure flight safety.