On October 12, 2025, an Airbus A300 arriving in London suffered a tailstrike during a firm, slightly long touchdown, then became airborne again, prompting the crew to initiate a go-around with the thrust reversers already selected. In the first seconds after the strike, the main gear compressed enough to trigger “ground” logic; spoilers deployed and the pilots pulled the reverser levers. As the aircraft rebounded, lift and residual approach thrust put it back into the air with the reversers unlocked and beginning to deploy. That sequence complicated the go-around: on the A300, forward thrust is effectively unavailable until the reverser sleeves/buckets are driven back to the stowed and locked position, so the engines initially could not produce the commanded go-around power. The airplane also experienced extra drag and depending on the exact sleeve positions, a risk of asymmetric reverse that can induce yaw, until the reversers were fully retracted.
Following the balked-landing checklist, the crew stowed the reversers, retracted speedbrakes, selected TOGA, and stabilized the flightpath before climbing away for a circuit and a subsequent uneventful landing. Initial inspections confirmed tailcone/scrape-panel damage consistent with a tailstrike; there were no injuries.
Source: Airlive
Images: Airlive
