Lufthansa Plane Bounces Twice During Dramatic Landing at LAX

A Lufthansa Airlines Boeing 747 aircraft experienced a dramatic and potentially dangerous landing incident at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. Shocking video footage captured by Airline Videos Live showed the plane violently bouncing off the runway twice during its initial touchdown attempt, causing smoke to rise from the tarmac as the wheels scraped the ground.

After the second failed landing attempt, the pilot was forced to abort the landing and take off again. The livestream commentator, Los Angeles TV News photojournalist Kevin Ray, described it as the most challenging landing they had ever caught on video. The plane circled back and was able to land safely on the second try, about 15 minutes later.

The Boeing 747-8 aircraft, with registration D-ABYP, was operating Lufthansa flight LH456 from Frankfurt, Germany to Los Angeles. The plane is 9 years old. Neither LAX nor Lufthansa immediately responded to requests for comment regarding the incident, the potential causes, or the number of passengers and crew aboard the flight.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that the go-around maneuver was initiated by the pilot, suggesting the crew made the decision to abort based on the hard landing, rather than any malfunction with the aircraft itself. However, it remains unclear what factors may have contributed to the plane's difficulty touching down smoothly on the first attempt.

Why this matters: This incident highlights the ongoing safety challenges and risks in commercial aviation, even as the industry works to maintain the highest standards. The dramatic images of the botched landing at a major international hub like LAX raise concerns about pilot training, aircraft maintenance, and airport conditions. It also underscores the critical role of skilled flight crews in handling unexpected situations to ensure passenger safety.

While aviation experts emphasize that such incidents do not indicate a systemic problem and that air travel remains one of the safest forms of transportation, this event adds to a string of recent safety issues and malfunctions involving Boeing aircraft. These include a woman's death after being partially sucked out of a window, the fatal crashes of 737 MAX jets, and other incidents with the 747, 777, and 787 models. Investigators will work to determine if any commonalities exist to further improve the safety and reliability of these widely used planes.

Key Takeaways

• Lufthansa 747 experienced dramatic, dangerous landing incident at LAX on April 23, 2024.
• Plane violently bounced off runway twice, causing smoke, before pilot aborted landing and tried again.
• FAA confirmed pilot's go-around decision, but cause of hard landing remains unclear.
• Incident highlights ongoing safety challenges in aviation, despite industry's high safety standards.
• Adds to recent safety issues with Boeing aircraft, including 737 MAX crashes and other incidents.