Indigo Flight Faces Tail Strike at Chennai Airport, Sixth Incident in Two Years

An Indigo aircraft scrapped off the plane's rear tail, leading to panic among the passengers. The read end scrapped while the flight was trying to land in Chennai. The incident happned on Saturday and this is the sixth incident that happned in the past 2 years. DGCA ordered a probe into the matter as the rear end was damaged badly. The flight 6E 5325 was traveling from Mumbai to Chennai and during the landing at around 1:55 PM,

In a statement, Indigo claimed that the flight is grounded and it would be specifically checked for all types of repair posts which the flight would be allowed to return to operations. DGCA confirmed that it would be checking the technique of the pilot, the wind speed, and the flap settings which are used in bringing the flight down to the tarmac. It is also believed that improper setting of the flaps was one of the reasons behind the tail crashing on the tarmac. Indigo has also received a penalty from DGCA in the past for reportedly not accurately utilizing the flaps

As per sources, the same aircraft was also engaged in a tail strike in the year 2024 where it suffered severe challenges because of the strike. The tails and the wings of the aircraft were severely damaged. The aircraft was grounded till February 2025 as the damage took time to repair. The event was extremely disheartening and the case was handed over to Aircraft Accident Beaureu. The report of the aircraft accident has still not been published.

As per sources from the September incident, the exact location of the tail strike was not determined and it can be in Bangalore or Delhi. The flight was grounded in Bangalore after the travel and it was when the inspection team witnessed a damaged fuselage. Many people have claimed that the flight arrived at Delhi with a damaged belly, reportedly caused by of hard takeoff. The authorities did not pay much attention to the scrapped-off belly and eventually traveled to Bangalore.

This was a hazardous situation that had put the passengers on state as there are O2 sensors and pressure systems that can hamper the oxygen supply inside the cabin. Most of the Pilots have complained that flying the A321 is a challenge at times because of the longer base at the end. An A321 is 6.94 meters longer than A320 for which frequent tail strikes are taking place. Also, the angle of departure is a bit challenging and quite delicate for which pilots have to stay alert when taking off and landing.

A senior DGCA official informed that “as a company policy, the crew was asked to carry out flap 3 landing every time, which is not in line with the Airbus Flight Crew Operating Manual (FCOM) procedures.”