Summary
- A Lufthansa Boeing 747-8I had a rough landing at LAX, managed a go-around, and safely landed on second attempt.
- No passengers or crew were injured during the incident, and Lufthansa confirmed the aircraft was undamaged.
- Comments on YouTube praised Boeing’s aircraft strength, attributing the incident to pilot error rather than aircraft fault.
A terrifying landing was streamed worldwide on Airline Videos Live and has amassed a total of 1.2 million views and coverage on a host of news programs. Since the clip has gained notoriety, Lufthansa released a statement about the event.
What happened?
On April 24th, 2024, a Lufthansa Boeing 747-8I, the largest and final passenger variant of the jumbo jet on a flight from Frankfurt to Los Angeles, has an extremely rough landing and a subsequent go-around at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
The rough landing, also called a balked landing, was caused by a training pilot. The aircraft landed on the runway, bottoming out the landing gear and causing a large amount of tire smoke. The aircraft then gains altitude after the initial bounce, after which the pilot tries to land again. The aircraft bounces a second time before going around.
Kevin Ray, the owner and host of Airline Videos Live, which captured the footage, can be heard saying:
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. That is the roughest landing I think we have ever caught on our broadcast. Holy moly.”
Flight LH 456 was carrying 326 passengers and 19 crew members at the time of the incident. The aircraft circled the airport and landed without incident.
Lufthansa’s statement
In a statement given to news agencies, Lufthansa said the incident occurred during a training flight and that:
“Following an assessment by the cockpit crew, a consultation with the technical department on-site and in Frankfurt, and an initial visual inspection, the aircraft (registration D-ABYP) flew back to Frankfurt.”
Photo: ajuangon | Shutterstock
Regardless of the rough landing, no passengers or crew were injured during the balked landing.
After the aircraft arrived in Germany, Lufthansa mechanics said that there were “no findings” and that the aircraft was without damage, according to the statement made by the airline.
Boeing built
Hard landings aren’t uncommon and happen quite often. However, the degree of these incidents differs greatly. A hard landing could result in a simple load report being generated or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, the aircraft being written off.
In this case, it was the former, as the airline states unequivocally that the aircraft was not damaged. It’s a testament to the build and design strength of the aircraft.
While troubling, such an event can also rouse people’s spirits about Boeing as a manufacturer.
Photo: Lukas Wunderlich | Shutterstock
Comments on the YouTube video all praise the aircraft and the build quality.
- Rober_N said, “Amazing strength on the landing gears. The queen never disappoints.”
- lofiRob said, “Can we just take a moment of respect for the technology in those tires and the landing gear??? Not to mention the guys and gals that design and build that stuff. Man! Just awesome.”
- db_flip said, “I’m a Flight Attendant on the 747 this plane can handle a lot more than anyone knows no need to worry :).”
Many comments also criticize the way news articles have depicted the incident as somehow a fault of Boeing and the aircraft, while it was clearly pilot error. Boeing might have lost its reputation as a safe and respectable manufacturer, but there seem to be plenty of passengers who will continue to fly on their aircraft.
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