Tail strike

[BigEndBob]

Would a tail strike on a 757 be heard felt at the front.
Few days ago felt as a pax like a over rotation and a bang, as I have heard on lighter aircraft.
Would this need an engineer to look at before next flight?

[misd-agin]

Not necessarily. Big jet, small noise.

[RAT 5]

Don't know, never done it, but if it was suspected the engineer needs to inspect it PDQ; hence an immediate return. Indeed, before the next flight and before the subject flight reached destination. The CC's in rear galley would be your ears.
Curious about 'the bang'. You would be very unlucky if you'd experienced multiple tail strikes; and I'm sure you would know because at least one of them would have been an immediate return.

[BigEndBob]

Well I say bang but as in the situation where my student and I got caught out in a Cessna where the tail struck and sounded like a dustbin hitting the ground.
The 757 "tail strike" sounded exactly the same.

[qwertyuiop]

Not sure you would feel an over rotation as pax. I know a couple of flight deck who have had tail strikes and neither felt it.
A tail strike would be picked up on the next pre flight check.

[eckhard]

Could be a cargo bin hitting the stops?

[B2N2]

and a bang, as I have heard on lighter aircraft.

Food trolleys weigh a fair amount and one sliding or hitting a stop can make a good amount of noise.
A former colleague who had a tail scrape in a 737 told me they didn't hear or feel anything, not even the FA in the aft galley.
Drain masts ground off and some light skin damage.

Now this you may feel and hear :}

http://www.graysono.co.nz/photos/2013-image006-130513224252292.jpg

[RAT 5]

Damn. Those pesky Jet A1 sniffing metal eating rats have crept into the APU bay again. Damn!. "Say again." said the chief pilot.

[Colours389]

Tea and no biscuits for sure!

[B2N2]

And coffee and cookies with the FAA.

[misd-agin]

That will buff right out.

"No items." CA to FE after taxiing across some grass.

[DaveReidUK]

Malaysian Tail Strike on take off at Zurich - PPRuNe Forums (http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/139358-malaysian-tail-strike-take-off-zurich.html)

2004.

[ThreeThreeMike]

Now this you may feel and hear :}



That's not the optional APU enhanced access option? :D

[ACMS]

Maybe Dave but that picture is an Aeromexico 767.

[DaveReidUK]

Apologies, yes, AMX B762 at MAD, April 2013.

[tj916]

T-cut and speedtape, good to go.

[dixi188]

Do I remember one some years ago that resulted in the APU falling out?

[oceancrosser]

It really would take a serious effort to do this in a 762...

Likewise in a 752. Now the 763 and 753 would make it easier :}

[mustangsally]

I'd say not so fast aviators'. At Vr there should be a three second rotation to T/O pitch attitude and V2 about the same time. Every tail strike I have ever investigated showed rotations to takeoff attitude of around two seconds. Some of the problem comes from new guys with just straight wing experience. The second comes from light weight takeoffs where one can really just jerk the airframe airborne.


Go back to the F-86 in the 50's. Guys were literally rotating and running off the end of the runway. Most had transitioned from the P-51. Bob Hoover went over and demonstrated how it was done. He would land, stop and do a 180 and take off down wind without a problem. Lesson learned.