A packed British Airways jet was involved in a terrifying landing scare during its touchdown at Heathrow Airport.
Flight BA431, flying from Amsterdam to London on Thursday local time, had to dramatically abort its touchdown after its tail struck the runway when attempting to land.
According to The Sun, screaming could be heard coming from the 220 passengers as the aircraft hit the tarmac at around 11 a.m. on its left-side tyres.
In unbelievable footage captured by a plane-spotter nearby, the tailfin of the twin-jet Airbus A321neo crashed into the runway before having to climb back into the air again.
On board, passengers dramatically lurched forward in their seats as the pilots struggled to control the aircraft.
The horror landing was captured on video by a stunned plane-spotter nearby.
“This is most irregular. There were screams. No one knew what was happening,” a source told The Sun.
“This near-crash is very rare. The plane was buffeted by high winds, but usually the pilots have this scenario under control.
“An investigation will get to the bottom of what happened.”
The outlet reported that early investigations pointed to a “misjudgment” in the cockpit, while it had been reported to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch – tasked with investigating “civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the UK.”
News.com.au has reached out to British Airways for comment.
It comes after a United Airlines flight sent out a hijack alert earlier this week after a passenger claimed they had a bomb in their bag and attempted to storm the cockpit.
The horror unfolded on flight UA2174 departing New Jersey’s Newark International Airport at 9.27 p.m. EST on Monday, bound for New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong International Airport.
It is understood the pilots on board squawked 7500 – the international transponder code that signals unlawful interference, which means a hijacking or hostile on-board threat, in aviation, according to FlightRadar24.
The Level 4 alert means that there was an attempt or actual breach of the cockpit, according to aviation content creator Aaron Rheins.
An unidentified 34-year-old male passenger claimed he had a bomb in a backpack mid-flight, which prompted the alert, revealed Air Traffic Control audio that was reviewed by Rheins.
After the terrifying incident, the passenger was reportedly put in the back of the aircraft and seated with the crew before the flight safely landed in New Orleans at 11:15 p.m. local time.
A spokesperson for United Airlines confirmed the incident with news.com.au, stating that “law enforcement met the aircraft upon arrival.”
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