It has emerged that a LATAM Boeing 777 bound for Sao Paulo suffered a tail strike on departure from Milan, prompting a return back to the Italian airport.
Information has been released pertinent to this incident, which we will get into in this article.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
Tail Strike!: LATAM Flight LA8073 – Milan to Sao Paulo…
LATAM flight LA8073, which suffered the tail strike on departure, is a routine scheduled flight between Milan and Sao Paulo.
Also, it is understood the aircraft involved in the incident was PT-MUG.
As per data from Planespotters.net, PT-MUG is a 11.8 year old Boeing 777-300ER that started out life with TAM Linhas Aereas in October 2012.
In May 2016, when the merger with LAN was completed, the aircraft was landed over to the LA register.
Of the 777-300ER variant, LATAM Airlines Brasil have 10 of them in their fleet.
Furthermore, within that 10, all but one are in active service, with the average fleet age standing at 13.3 years.
As well as that aircraft, the Brazilian carrier has the following in their mainline fleet:
- 19 Airbus A319s.
- 75 Airbus A320 Family aircraft.
- 45 Airbus A321 Family aircraft.
- 1 Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
LATAM flight LA8073 departed Milan at 1326 local time on July 9, which was when the tail strike on departure occurred.
Data from RadarBox shows that the aircraft entered a series of holds to burn off fuel following the incident.
From there, the aircraft, originally bound for Sao Paulo, set itself up for the approach back into Malpensa, where it landed safely without further incident at 1436 local time.
Aircraft Still Grounded Following the Incident…
It is understood that following the incident involving LATAM flight LA8073 to Sao Paulo, PT-MUG, the Boeing 777 is now grounded in Milan.
No further information has been released pertinent to the extent of the damage caused by the tail strike on departure.
Furthermore, it is unclear how long repairs will take to allow the aircraft to either be ferried back to Brazil, or to return to commercial service.
As soon as we have more information on this incident, then we will update you accordingly.
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