Dramatic footage from the largest airport in northern Italy, which serves Lombardy, Piedmont, Liguria, and the Swiss canton of Ticino, captures the moment a LATAM Airlines Boeing 777-300 experienced a severe tail strike incident. 

Aviation blog AIRLIVE reports that a LATAM Boeing 777-300 departing from Milan Malpensa Airport to Sao Paulo suffered a tail strike on runway 35, left. 

“The Boeing aircraft is seen performing the rotation too early making the tail to strike the runway for 10 seconds before finally climbing,” AIRLIVE wrote. 

The leading cause of tail strikes in the aviation world is premature rotation by the pilot of an aircraft. However, an investigation needs to be conducted into this incident to see whether the incident was a human error or perhaps a mechanical one.

AIRLIVE said, “As the tower noticed the pilots, the B777 climbed to 6,000 ft before circling for about one hour. It landed back at Milan on runway 35R one hour and 9 minutes after departure.” 

Local media outlet VareseNews posted CCTV footage of the incident on YouTube, along with a caption that read (translated into English):

The accident which occurred at Malpensa at 1.32pm on Tuesday 9 July is part of a codified type of accident, called “tail strike”: it occurs when the tail of a plane touches the runway during take-off or landing. This type of accident can cause significant damage to the aircraft structure, compromising its integrity and safety. During a tail strike, the lower part of the rear fuselage, including the tail, suffers a direct impact with the ground, causing abrasions, deformations and, in more serious cases, failure of the structure.

Earlier this week, a series of aviation mishaps occurred in the US, including:

Monday: United Flight 1001, a Boeing 757-200, lost a main landing gear wheel while taking off from Los Angeles International Airport.

United Airlines 757 loses a wheel during takeoff from Los Angeles International Airport. United Airlines Flight 1001 continued to Denver Airport where it landed safely. pic.twitter.com/jFDJmQpBKs

— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) July 9, 2024

Monday: A Delta Connection flight nearly collided with an American Eagle flight at Syracuse Hancock International Airport

Video circulating on social media showing a near-miss at Syracuse Hancock International Airport on Monday is not being classified as a “close call” by the FAA. pic.twitter.com/RCbyoqhLmT

— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) July 10, 2024

Wednesday: United Flight 1001, a Boeing 757-200, lost a main landing gear wheel while taking off from Los Angeles International Airport.

Video captures moment American Airlines 737-800 tire fails during takeoff from Tampa Airport. The crew of AA590 safely aborted the takeoff and vacated the runway.

📹 CaptainStevenMarkovich
🔗 https://t.co/LjaQRouvIA pic.twitter.com/FafAcgzSVE

— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) July 10, 2024

This week has yet to inspire much confidence in the aviation industry following a series of Boeing jet mishaps this year.