Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner Suffers Tailstrike

An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with registration number ET-AYC and nicknamed Bangkok, suffered a tailstrike whilst landing in Lubumbashi on the Addis Ababa-Lilongwe-Lubumbashi route.

The incident happened on the 6th of October on flight ET 877. The local weather station at Lubumbashi reported temperatures of 32 degrees, winds were blowing from the East at approximately 12 knots with no gusts, and there was no significant weather reported. It was a typical warm, calm day in Lubumbashi. Despite that,at about 12:54, ET 877 had to abort its first attempt to land. The pilots circled and landed on the second attempt at around 13:12.

The tailstrike was discovered when the aircraft was parked at its gate. The Dreamliner sustained some minor cracks, leaving it unable to continue flight operations. The aircraft remained grounded in Lubumbashi for about 24 hours and it was later ferried back to Addis Ababa. The ferry flight was unpressurized and reached a maximum altitude of only 13,000 feet.