Air France reinforces balked-landing training after A350 go-around tail-strike

Air France has implemented balked-landing training for pilots of several aircraft types including the Airbus A350, after one of the twinjets was involved in a tail-strike at Toronto. The A350-900 had been arriving from Paris Charles de Gaulle on 21 January last year. Its first officer was undergoing training during the flight, and was the pilot flying. Visual conditions prevailed and the assigned runway, 24L, was dry. As the aircraft’s main landing-gear touched down, the captain called for a go-around, according to a 26 February update on the inquiry from the Transportation Safety Board. The first officer had started moving the thrust reversers to the ‘reverse idle’ setting, and the captain repeated the go-around command. As the first officer responded to the call, advancing the thrust levers to go-around power, the A350 became airborne “at low speed”, the safety board states. "The aircraft’s pitch was increased while both pilots concentrated on conducting the go-around,” it adds.<br/>