A Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 arriving from Frankfurt went around at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday, October 10, after its main landing gear had already briefly touched the runway, then landed safely on a second approach about 15 minutes later.
The aircraft, registered D-ABYK and operating flight LH456 from Frankfurt, was landing on runway 24R at LAX when the crew abandoned the first landing attempt. Video of the moment, filmed by the channel Airline Videos and widely shared on X, shows the jumbo pitching up steeply close to the runway surface as it climbed away.
What happened
According to German aviation news site aero.de, which carried a dpa-AFX report on October 11, the main gear of the 747-8 made brief contact with runway 24R before the crew initiated the go-around. German news portal t-online reported that the touchdown appeared to take too long, prompting the pilots to climb away.
During the climb, the jet's nose rose sharply. Observers said that for a moment it looked as though the tail might touch the runway, a so-called tail strike. That did not happen. One widely shared post on X described the maneuver as "a late missed approach" and said "the steep nose-up near the surface looked close to a tail strike, but there was none."
Flight data from Flightradar24, cited by t-online, showed the 747 flying a circuit after the go-around and landing safely at LAX around 15 minutes later. Flight-tracking service PlaneTrack logged the event at 20:19 UTC on October 10 near Los Angeles International.
The reason for the aborted landing has not been made public. The reports did not include a statement from Lufthansa explaining the crew's decision.
A go-around is a normal procedure
A go-around, also called a missed approach or balked landing, is a standard and regularly trained maneuver. Pilots break off a landing whenever the approach is not stable, for example if the aircraft is too high or too fast, if the wind changes suddenly, or if the runway is not clear. A go-around can also be the safer choice when an aircraft floats too far down the runway before touching down, or bounces after touchdown, because the remaining runway may not be enough for a safe stop.
A go-around after the wheels have already touched the runway is less common but is also part of pilot training. In that situation the engines are already spooling down and the aircraft is low and slow, which is why the pitch-up and climb can look dramatic from the ground.
t-online pointed to an example of what can happen when a crew continues a long landing instead. In September, according to a preliminary report from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board cited by the portal, a cargo aircraft at Miami touched down about 3,750 feet beyond the runway threshold and overran the runway, with five people on the ground killed. Measured against that, the Lufthansa crew appear to have chosen the safest option, the portal concluded.
Lufthansa's 747-8 fleet
Lufthansa is the largest passenger operator of the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental, the longest version of the jumbo jet, which it flies alongside older 747-400s on long-haul routes from its Frankfurt hub. Los Angeles is one of the U.S. gateways where the four-engined jet is regularly seen.
The 747-8 is a demanding aircraft to land, with a long fuselage that makes tail clearance an important consideration during the flare and any go-around close to the ground. Airlines train crews to manage pitch carefully in this phase.
What comes next
There was no report of injuries or damage, and the flight ended with a normal landing. Whether the event will be examined further by Lufthansa's flight safety department or by investigators has not been announced. Go-arounds on their own are not classed as accidents, and most are never reported publicly. This one drew attention mainly because it was caught on video at one of the world's busiest spotting locations.
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