Tail strike in Moscow: Azur Air Boeing 767 suffers belly damage

Airlines azur_air_vq-ben_boeing_767-33a_er-3.jpg

An Azur Air Boeing 767-300 suffered significant belly damage during a tail strike incident in Vnukovo airport (VKO), Russia.

The incident occurred on September 22, 2020, when the aircraft, registered as VQ-BEN, arrived from Antalya, Turkey to Moscow.

Azur Air was carrying 336 passengers and 10 crew members on board the jet when the captain felt wind shear on final approach. The higher pitch angle caused a tail strike at the time of landing at VKO.

The runway inspection showed that the pilots attempted to land the 19-year-old jet too near the runway threshold. The post-flight inspection recorded belly damage aft side of the aircraft fuselage.

Meanwhile, contact traces of aircraft paint and metal were found on the runway over the distance of 101 meters.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported. The aircraft rolled out without further incident and taxied to the apron.