KLM A321neo Damaged During Landing

A newly delivered KLM Airbus A321neo has been grounded in Lisbon after experiencing a tail strike during landing on 16 June, 2026.

With visible damage to the rear fuselage, no injuries were reported among passengers or crew; all aboard were able to exit the plane safely.

What Happened On The KLM A321neo

The aircraft, an Airbus A321-252NX registered as PH-AXB, was operating flight KL1583 from Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) to Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS).

KL1583 is a regularly scheduled flight by the Dutch carrier departing Amsterdam at 1230 local time and scheduled to land in Lisbon at 1435. According to FlightRadar24, the A321neo actually touched down at 1414 after a 1241 departure from the Netherlands, thus ahead of schedule.

According to preliminary reports and flight tracking data, the jet then landed on runway 02 when it bounced on initial touchdown, the aircraftthen contacted the runway which is how its tail which was on a steeper descent and lower position impacted.

With a brief skip back into the air, and a scrape along the runway as the aft fuselage made contract it became clear to see what had happened. The brief skip back into the air, which then forced the hard landing, was done so without the crew losing control of the aircraft.

The A321neo safely rolled down the runway without further incident and then taxied to the apron under its own power. Disembarkment was also reported as normal.

The A321neo & Repeated Landing Incidents

PH-AXB is the registration of the Airbus A321neo flown by KLM in the incident. This aircraft is part of the airline’s commitment to the next generation of single-aisles aimed at lowering costs.

The plane was first delivered to the airline on 27 September, 2024 and is 1.7 years old per the latest data. It came with the testing registration as D-AZAJ and was produced in Hamburg, Germany.

The plane leased from CDB Aviation entered service a week after being delivered in the early days of October 2024. However, this incident isn’t the first time the jet has experienced a hard landing that caused damage.

For not being two years old, having multiple incidents is rare, let alone for the average airframe over its entire lifespan. In this case, the aircraft on 21 February, 2025 was involved in a hard landing at Châteauroux-Déols “Marcel Dassault” Airport during pilot training.

The hard landing saw the aircraft stored for 20 days through 11 March 2025, after which it was returned to Amsterdam, where final checks were conducted before it was once more cleared to return to service. Where, just over 12 months later, another hard landing would cause the jet to be grounded.

Damage To The A321neo

Hard landings are not uncommon during a plane’s operational life for many reasons. In this case, the Airbus A321neo sustained damage to the tail assembly area and the lower aft fuselage, where its skin essentially contracted the runway surface.

The extent of the structural damage beyond imagery has not been publicly detailed and will form part of investigations to determine the scope of the repairs, the factors that caused the incident, and so forth.

With the scheduled KL1584 flight to Amsterdam from Lisbon cancelled that same day, impacted passengers were rebooked on another flight. However, PH-AXB remained parked in Lisbon for assessment, where it still sits today with no flight scheduled based on tracking data.

Thoroigh inspections to the rare pressure bulkhead, frames, skin panels and other checks now must be copmpleted, and a safety deparmtnet, eningeers of the airline and all relevant regulators will also need to approve the plane to retrn to service, this not an overnight job.