What would happen if a pilot tried to land with a tailwind?

Question

What if a pilot was forced to land in a tailwind? Would this be possible and what is the maximum tailwind an aircraft can handle?

Answer 1

Your landing rollout will be longer, your groundspeed will be faster and you will stress the brakes more than a landing with less tailwind. The same can be said for choosing calm winds over a headwind.

The jet I flew and many others have a limitation for maximum tailwind of 10 kts and it isn't unheard of to request an opposite direction landing (e.g. with a tailwind) if the tailwind is acceptable, the runway is long, and there is no conflicting traffic when it is convenient for the operation.

If you were forced to make a landing with a tailwind exceeding your limitations then the situation is probably an emergency and you'll want a longer than normal runway. There is an increased threat of a brake fire, but in an emergency ARFF will be following you down the runway and they'll take care of it. The tailwind landing only really becomes a problem if the runway isn't long enough (overrun) or if the tailwind is so strong that the maximum wheel speed is exceeded (loss of directional control or worse).