China Southern Airlines Boeing 787-9 Has Apparent Tail Strike on Landing
A China Southern Airlines Boeing 787-9 operating flight CZ3534 from Shanghai Hongqiao to Guangzhou on October 21 appears to have suffered a tail strike upon landing. The aircraft sustained significant damage to the rear fuselage and cargo compartment. The incident is under investigation.
On October 21, 2024, a China Southern Airlines Boeing 787-9 aircraft, registration B-1243, was operating flight CZ3534 from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China. During the landing at Guangzhou, the aircraft appears to have suffered a tail strike.
The 787-9, which was delivered to China Southern in May 2018 and is 6.4 years old, sustained substantial damage. Post-flight inspection revealed scraping on the tail, large areas of abrasion on the lower rear fuselage skin, a longitudinal tear in the skin, and multiple fractured support frames in the rear cargo compartment.
Passengers onboard felt a strong jolt upon touchdown. Flight data shows the aircraft had a pitch attitude of 5° with a 1.36G vertical load on the first touchdown. On the second touchdown, pitch increased to 7.6° with a much higher 2.47G vertical load. The hard landing was likely due to an improper flare and over-rotation.
The damage has rendered the aircraft inoperable and it has not flown since the incident. The structural integrity of the rear fuselage and pressure vessel has been compromised. Extensive repairs will be required, potentially even replacement of the entire rear fuselage section. With the specialized facilities needed, it will be very challenging to ferry the aircraft for full repairs.
Newer aircraft like the 787 which use composite materials can be more difficult to repair than traditional metal aircraft. Non-destructive inspections and a full damage assessment will need to be completed to determine if repairs are even feasible or if the airframe will need to be written off.
While the flight crew appears to have made errors resulting in the tail strike, it’s important that a full, blame-free investigation identify all contributing factors so that procedures, training, and crew pairings can be optimized to reduce the risk of similar incidents in the future. This was a serious event that will be costly for the airline, but the most important thing is that no one was injured.