Amid heavy rains, IndiGo aircraft suffers tail strike during go-around in Mumbai

MUMBAI: An IndiGo Airbus A321 aircraft, operating flight 6E1060 from Bangkok, suffered a tail strike while landing in Mumbai amid heavy rains in the early hours of Saturday.Flight 6E1060 departed Bangkok at 11.40 pm and landed in Mumbai around 3 am.

Before touching down on runway 27 at the airport, the aircraft executed a go-around. It descended below 550 feet before the pilots decided to abort the landing and attempt a second approach.

The tail strike occurred during the go-around. A tail strike occurs when the tail, the aft section of the fuselage, makes contact with the runway or ground during landing or take-off."On August 16-2025, an IndiGo Airbus A321 aircraft tail touched the runway while executing a low-altitude go-around due to unfavourable weather conditions in Mumbai.

Thereafter, the aircraft carried out another approach and landed safely. Following the standard protocol, the aircraft will go through necessary checks, repairs, and regulatory clearance before resuming operations," IndiGo said in a press statement.

"At IndiGo, the safety of our customers, crew, and aircraft is our top priority. We are making all efforts to minimise any subsequent impact on our operations due to this incident," it added.

Sources indicated that IndiGo did not inform Mumbai air traffic control about the tail strike. "A tail strike could damage the runway surface, it could take out runway centre line lights or leave foreign objects on the runway, all of which is unsafe for the next aircraft that has lined up to take off or land. Airlines inform the ATC about a tail strike because a runway inspection should be carried out after such an incident to ensure the safety of all aircraft operating from that runway," said an aviation source.In July 2023, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation levied a fine of Rs 30 lakh on IndiGo after its aircraft suffered four tail strikes within six months. The regulator identified systematic deficiencies, including training and engineering procedures, that led to the tail strikes. The A321 is a longer version of the A320 aircraft; its fuselage is 22 feet longer than the classic A320.