A British Airways A321neo Appeared to Strike Its Tail Twice at Heathrow. The Crew Went Around and Landed Safely.

British Airways Airbus A321neo G-NEOV at London Heathrow. Representative photo; this is not the incident aircraft, G-TNEB. Photo: Alex Noble, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A British Airways Airbus A321neo had a rough first look at the runway at London Heathrow this morning, and the crew did what they're trained to do: they took it around.

Flight BA431 from Amsterdam, an A321neo registered G-TNEB, appeared to strike its tail on the runway twice during the first landing attempt. Big Jet TV caught the sequence live on its 24/7 Heathrow camera and posted the clip Thursday morning. The crew went around and landed safely on the next approach. Flight trackers show the airplane arrived late, though they don't all agree on the exact time, so we're leaving the clock times out.

The quick facts

• The flight. British Airways BA431, Amsterdam Schiphol to London Heathrow, Airbus A321neo G-TNEB. Flightradar24 shows the same jet had flown the outbound sector, BA430, from Heathrow to Amsterdam earlier in the morning.
• What it looked like. In Big Jet TV's live footage, the tail appeared to contact the runway twice on the first attempt before the crew went around.
• The outcome. The airplane landed safely on the next approach. Passengers deplaned as normal, according to Paddle Your Own Kanoo. There is still no official word on the cause or any damage.
• The airline. A British Airways spokesperson told Paddle Your Own Kanoo: "The aircraft landed safely, and we're assisting the AAIB with its investigation and are legally unable to comment further at this stage."
• What happens next. That statement is the first official confirmation that the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch is looking at the event. As of this writing, the AAIB has not published a separate occurrence notice on it. Paddle Your Own Kanoo reports the airplane has been taken out of service for inspections, with a tentative return on November 14, depending on what the checks find. Flightradar24 currently shows no further flights for G-TNEB until that date.

Why a long jet leaves you less room

The A321neo is a long airplane. Once the nose comes up in the flare, or comes back up after a bounce, there isn't a lot of tail clearance left. That's not a knock on the jet. It's just geometry, and every pilot who has flown a stretched narrowbody knows it.

A bounce is one of the places that geometry gets unforgiving. If the airplane skips and the nose starts to rise again, adding more aft stick to try to salvage the landing is often what puts the tail in play. The better answer is usually the one this crew chose: go around, get clean and come back for a stable approach.

We're not going to pretend we can call the exact pitch, or even confirm a tail strike, from a video. What we can say is that a go-around after a landing that isn't working out is the right call.

The bottom line

A go-around isn't a failure. It's one of the most useful maneuvers in the book, and this is a good reminder of why. British Airways has confirmed the airplane landed safely and that it is assisting the AAIB. Until investigators and the airline say more, anything about cause or damage is still unofficial.

We'll keep an eye on it. In the meantime, if you want more of this kind of hangar talk from two airline pilots, listen to The Black Box Aviation Podcast.

Sources

• BIG JET TV (@BigJetTVLIVE), "Caught live on our 24/7 Camera BA431 encountered a double tail strike upon landing at Heathrow Airport this morning. What happened here?", Nov 12, 2026, 8:05 AM ET (1:05 PM UTC): https://x.com/BigJetTVLIVE/status/2120865653431402927
• Paddle Your Own Kanoo, "Accident Investigators Called In After British Airways Airbus A321 Suffers Double Tailstrike While Trying to Land at Heathrow," Mateusz Maszczynski, Nov 12, 2026 (includes the British Airways spokesperson statement quoted above): https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2026/11/12/accident-investigators-called-in-after-british-airways-airbus-a321-suffers-double-tailstrike-while-trying-to-land-at-heathrow/
• FlightStats, BA431 flight tracker for Nov 12, 2026 (listed the flight as arrived, delayed 18 minutes; other trackers disagree on the exact landing time): https://www.flightstats.com/v2/flight-tracker/BA/431
• Flightradar24, aircraft history for G-TNEB (A321-251NX; BA430 earlier that morning; BA431 landed late; no further flights listed until Nov 14): https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/G-TNEB
• AirNav Radar, BA431 status for Nov 12, 2026 (confirms G-TNEB / Airbus A321-251NX; landing time conflicts with other trackers): https://www.airnavradar.com/data/flights/BA431