KLM A330 Tailstrike

[punkalouver]

I thought it was interesting that a tailstrike can result in an unusual smell in the cabin. An overall interesting scenario.....

"PH-AKE, a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Airbus A330-303, was operating as flight KLM678 from
Calgary (CYYC), AB to Amsterdam (EHAM), Netherlands with 12 crew and 216 passengers on
board. During take-off on Runway 29, the tail contacted the runway surface during rotation. The
flight crew were unaware a tail strike had occurred. They had detected a burning odor immediately
after lift off and suspected the APU; it was a "bleeds off" take-off and the APU had been supplying
conditioned air at the time of take-off. The flight crew consulted the ECAM 'wheel page' and 'APU
page' and observed no abnormalities. ATC was queried and they suggested a possible tail strike.
The cabin crew were consulted and they did not note anything unusual. The flight continued to
EHAM with no further issues. When the aircraft arrived at the gate in EHAM, ground servicing crew
noticed the damage to the underside of the empennage and the aircraft was removed from service
for damage assessment."

[dixi188]

Scraped and burnt metal/composite in front of the APU intake. Bleed air from the APU goes into the cabin, hence the smell.