The LATAM Airlines Boeing 777 damaged in a tail strike accident in Milan has been sent to Victorville from Sao Paulo, and has landed there in the last hour.
PT-MUG, the specific aircraft, has been sent to the American airport for an unknown reason at this present moment.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
LATAM Airlines Flight JJ9540 – Sao Paulo to Victorville…
LATAM Airlines flight JJ9540 was the flight between Sao Paulo and Victorville, transporting the Boeing 777 that was involved in the tail strike accident in Milan in July 2024.
Furthermore, as per Planespotters.net, PT-MUG is a 12.3 year old airframe that was delivered to TAM in October 2012.
Following the merger with LAN, it was handed over to the LATAM Airlines registry in May 2016.
The affected aircraft was stored in Milan between July 9-14 last year.
It was then transported over to Sao Paulo where it remained in storage up to January 7, 2025.
LATAM Airlines flight JJ9540 departed Sao Paulo at 0423 local time this morning and landed into Victorville at 1049 local time.
The Accident in Milan…
The accident involving PT-MUG, which is now in Victorville, in Milan happened onboard LATAM Airlines flight LA8073 between Milan and Sao Paulo.
During it’s departure out of the Italian airport, the flight suffered a tail strike on the runway surface during rotation.
From there, the crew stopped the climb at 5,000 feet.
It then entered a hold to dump fuel.
Thereafter, the aircraft landed safely back into the Italian airport without further incident.
At this stage, the full report of the investigation into this accident has not been fully released.
The ANSV is still investigating what happened onboard LATAM Airlines flight LA8073 Milan-Sao Paulo.
This is the same aircraft is now sat in Victorville.
The Boeing 777 Has Been Involved In Another Accident in the Past…
The accident in Milan isn’t the first for that particular airframe, being PT-MUG, which operated the ferry flight to Victorville from Sao Paulo earlier today.
As per The Aviation Herald, the aircraft suffered electrical problems, forcing a diversion to Belo Horizonte, whilst enroute to it’s destination from London Heathrow.
Due to the nature of the electrical problems, the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deployed on the aircraft.
As a result, a decision was made to land the aircraft overweight.
Furthermore, upon landing, the aircraft became disabled, due to tyres being damaged.
It was subsequently towed off the runway a few hours later.
So, it is safe to say that this aircraft has been through a lot in it’s 12-year life already.
What Next For The Aircraft?
As mentioned, it is unclear why the LATAM Airlines Boeing 777 involved in the tail strike incident in Milan was sent to Victorville from Sao Paulo.
It could range from anywhere from long-term storage, to the aircraft being scrapped for parts.
Furthermore, it could very well be receiving repairs from a maintenance provider based at the airport.
With this aircraft being relatively young for it’s lifetime, it will be interesting to see what it’s fate will be in Victorville.
As soon as we have more information pertinent to the reason it is at the American airport, we will update you accordingly.
For now, this remains a developing story.
More updates to follow in the weeks and months ahead.
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