- Kalitta Air Boeing 777 freighter suffered tail strike at CVG.
- Incident occurred during go-around, landed safely on third attempt.
- Aircraft grounded for inspection; FAA investigating the event.
Fiery sparks showered across a runway at Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) over the weekend when a Kalitta Air Boeing 777 freighter suffered a dramatic tail strike during a failed landing attempt.
Video footage captured near the airfield shows the massive cargo jet scraping its lower fuselage against the tarmac around 8:00 p.m. local time on Sunday. In the clip, widely shared on X and picked up by local news outlets, an onlooker can be heard reacting in shock—shouting, "Woah, woah, woah, woah, golly!" as the aircraft skidded along the ground while emitting a brilliant trail of sparks.
WATCH: Kalitta Air Boeing 777-36N suffers a tailstrike during a go-around at Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport.
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) July 20, 2026
The company’s Chief Operating Officer Heath Nicholl said the flight landed safely shortly after the incident on Sunday, and the aircraft has been… pic.twitter.com/JKdqsdYN1P
Flight forced to abort landing
Witnesses told local NBC affiliate WLWT that the freighter was forced to abort its initial touchdown attempt and re-enter the landing pattern. A second landing attempt resulted in the severe tail scraping, prompting the flight crew to pull up into another go-around. The crew successfully brought the Boeing 777 to a safe landing on their third approach.
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Operations executive confirms tail skid
In a statement following the event, Kalitta Air Chief Operating Officer Heath Nicholl confirmed the incident occurred as the crew executed a standard go-around procedure. "The flight landed safely shortly thereafter, and there were no injuries to the crew," Nicholl said, as reported by FOX19.
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Nicholl verified that the Boeing 777 experienced a "tail skid" during the aborted touchdown. The cargo aircraft has since been pulled from active service and remains grounded for a full structural inspection and maintenance evaluation.
No crew injuries were reported, and aviation authorities have not yet announced whether a formal federal investigation will be opened.
FAA reacts to incident
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the national aviation authority of the United States, confirmed the incident in a statement and said the agency will investigate the matter. "Kalitta Air Flight 264 landed safely at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport around 8:15 p.m. local time on Sunday, July 19, after the tail of the Boeing 777-300ER scraped the runway during a go-around. The flight departed from Brussels Airport in Belgium. The FAA will investigate. This information is preliminary and subject to change," it wrote on X.