Qantas B789 at London on Feb 9th 2020, tail strike indication on departure
Last Update: November 12, 2020 / 18:35:59 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Feb 9, 2020
Classification
Incident
Airline
Qantas
Flight number
QF-10
Departure
London Heathrow, United Kingdom
Destination
Perth, Australia
Aircraft Registration
VH-ZND
Aircraft Type
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
ICAO Type Designator
B789
Airport
London Heathrow Airport, London
Airport ICAO Code
EGLL
A post flight inspection revealed both tail strike sensors had triggered.
Qantas confirmed the aircraft returned to Heathrow following a suspected tail strike. Engineers inspected the aircraft and found no damage to the fuselage. The flight needed to be cancelled nonetheless due to crew duty time limitation.
The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Heathrow about 26 hours after landing back.
At the time of departure and landing back Britain was under the influence of winter storm Ciara (aka Sabine), that continues to cause high winds gusting up to 48 knots even throughout Feb 10th 2020.
The Boeing 787s have tail strike indication systems. Boeing described that system: "The tail strike alert system detects ground contact which could damage the airplane pressure hull. A two-inch blade target and two proximity sensors are installed on the aft body of the airplane. The EICAS caution message TAIL STRIKE is displayed when a tail strike is detected. This indication is accompanied by a beeper and Master CAUTION light."
On Nov 12th 2020 the AAIB released their bulletin concluding the probable cause of the serious incident was:
During conditions of strong, gusty winds, a high pitch rate near lift-off caused the tail strike prevention system to activate. The tail contact angle was reached, and the crew received an EICAS tail strike message.
The AAIB described the sequence of events:
Following a normal engine start and taxi, the aircraft was cleared for takeoff from Runway 27R with the surface wind reported as 220° at 28 kt gusting 44 kt. Acceleration was normal in the strong wind and, at VR of 172 KIAS, the PF initiated a rotation which was coincident with a strong gust. Shortly after becoming airborne, the EICAS tail strike message was displayed. The crew elected to hold to the southwest of Heathrow at 6,000 ft whilst they carried out relevant actions from the Quick Reference Handbook (QRH), which prevented aircraft pressurisation, so prepared to return to Heathrow. The aircraft was then radar-vectored for an approach to Runway 27L at Heathrow, where an overweight landing was made.
After landing, it was identified that the tip of the tail strike detection sensor had been abraded due to contact with the runway. No further damage was found.
The AAIB described the FDR data:
The data showed that during the takeoff run, there were airspeed fluctuations consistent with the gusty wind conditions. Upon reaching an airspeed of 160 KIAS, the airspeed rapidly increased to 175 KIAS, at which point the PF initiated the rotate. As the aircraft pitched up, the airspeed reduced to 172 KIAS, where it briefly stagnated. The PF had progressively moved the control column aft to 4° at which point the pitch rate was just over 2°/s; the maximum aft movement of the control column was 9.8°. The control column was then moved slightly forward to 3°, but the pitch rate increased to 3.2°/s. The airspeed then started to increase, which coincided with the PF pulling back on the control column whilst also moving the control wheel from 20° counter-clockwise (CC) to 33° CC. This caused the left spoilers to further deploy from 5° to 20°.
As the pitch attitude increased through 6.3° nose-up, the pitch rate was nearly 4°/s, and the calculated tail height above the runway was 4.5 ft. The aircraft’s tail strike prevention system then started to move the elevators, which reduced the pitch rate to just over 2°/s. The pitch attitude at takeoff was about 9.7° and the tail height indicated just less than 2 ft.
The aircraft manufacturer analysed the FDR and CPL data and stated:
‘The near tail contact was the result of a combination of factors including: high pitch rate close to lift-off, airspeed stagnation, and control wheel usage deploying spoilers on the left wing. The high pitch rate allowed pitch attitude to increase towards the tail contact attitude prior to airspeed reaching lift-off speed. The deployed spoilers on the left wing decreased lift and necessitated a higher pitch attitude for lift-off.’
The AAIB analysed:
The aircraft was being operated within its weight, CG and wind limitations for the takeoff.
The weather conditions created strong gusting winds which, just before the point of rotation, rapidly increased the aircraft’s airspeed from160 KIAS to 175 KIAS. The initial pitch rate of 2°/s increased to 3.2°/s and then 4°/s, when the tail strike prevention system activated and reduced the pitch rate to 2°/s. The lateral control wheel inputs caused the left spoilers to deploy from 5° to 20°, decreasing the lift. The combined effect was that during rotation, an increase in aircraft pitch angle with the main landing gear wheels still on the runway, led to the tail contact angle of 9.7° being reached and the crew receiving an EICAS tail strike message.
Having been alerted to the tail contact by the EICAS message, the flight crew actioned the QRH and prevented the aircraft pressurising. After holding, the aircraft was flown to Heathrow in accordance with the checklist.
Metars:
EGLL 091620Z AUTO 25025G37KT 9000 -RA FEW038/// SCT049/// //////CB 11/09 Q0986 RERA TEMPO SHRA=
EGLL 091550Z AUTO 25027G44KT 1400 R27L/P1500 R27R/P1500 +RA SCT019/// BKN025/// BKN031/// //////CB 12/11 Q0987 TEMPO 5000 SHRA=
EGLL 091520Z AUTO 23027G37KT 9999 -RA SCT017/// BKN023/// BKN029/// //////CB 13/12 Q0986 TEMPO 3000 +SHRA BKN014CB=
EGLL 091450Z AUTO 22025G36KT 9999 -RA BKN017 OVC039 13/12 Q0986 TEMPO SHRA=
EGLL 091420Z AUTO 22028G40KT 7000 -RA BKN013/// OVC030/// //////TCU 12/12 Q0987 NOSIG=
EGLL 091350Z AUTO 23027G42KT 7000 -RA SCT013/// BKN018/// OVC024/// //////CB 12/11 Q0987 NOSIG=
EGLL 091320Z AUTO 22027G40KT 9999 -RA SCT015/// BKN022/// OVC044/// //////CB 12/11 Q0988 NOSIG=
EGLL 091250Z AUTO 22027G44KT 6000 -RA SCT015/// BKN020/// OVC044/// //////CB 12/11 Q0989 RERA TEMPO SHRA=
EGLL 091220Z AUTO 23029G45KT 3900 -RA VCTS BKN014/// OVC024/// //////CB 12/10 Q0990 TEMPO 1200 +SHRA=
EGLL 091150Z AUTO 21028G44KT 9999 -RA BKN014 BKN020 OVC032 12/10 Q0990 RERA REDZ TEMPO 3000 +SHRA=
EGLL 091120Z AUTO 22026G41KT 6000 -RA SCT013/// BKN018/// OVC027/// //////TCU 12/10 Q0992 TEMPO 3000 +RA BKN014CB=
EGLL 091050Z AUTO 21026G37KT 7000 -RA BKN014 OVC025 12/10 Q0993 NOSIG=
EGLL 091020Z AUTO 21026G39KT 7000 -RA BKN014 OVC020 12/10 Q0994 TEMPO BKN015=
EGLL 090950Z AUTO 22027G40KT 6000 -RA BKN013 BKN017 OVC027 11/10 Q0994 NOSIG=
EGLL 090920Z AUTO 21027G37KT 7000 -RA BKN012 BKN017 OVC023 11/09 Q0994 NOSIG=
Aircraft Registration Data
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Feb 9, 2020
Classification
Incident
Airline
Qantas
Flight number
QF-10
Departure
London Heathrow, United Kingdom
Destination
Perth, Australia
Aircraft Registration
VH-ZND
Aircraft Type
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
ICAO Type Designator
B789
Airport
London Heathrow Airport, London
Airport ICAO Code
EGLL
This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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