Fear of Landing

AUGUST 2, 2024

I’ve never seen a tail strike quite so… prolonged. The nose is high in the air with the Boeing’s tail scraping along the runway as a grey plume of smoke forms. As they were already at take-off speed and with most of the runway behind them, the crew continued in hopes of getting the aircraft into the air.

Tail 98

Tail Lift Runway V Speed 98

Gary's Flight Journal

JUNE 12, 2025

I only ran tail and over the shoulder cameras. The ground portion was a review of my flying, and procedures that included V speeds, emergency procedures and some regs. It’s always in the last place you look. I headed over to the airport so I could sump fuel and preflight. Yep, we still have the Canada smoke covering the area.

V Speed 80

V Speed Tail Flight Plan 80

Fear of Landing

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

There are a number of tail strike incidents caused by the take-off weight being logged as lower than it actually was. The description of the event clearly represents what was understood at the time: During the takeoff from RWY35L, the aircraft suffered a tail strike after the rotation. The key take-off speeds are V 1 , V 2 and V R.

Tail 97

Tail V Speed Knot Runway 97