The Earth's magnetic field is shaped by the solar wind. On the dayside the field is compressed and on the nightside it is stretched as a long tail. The tail has been observed to occasionally undergo flapping motions, but the origin of these motions is not understood. We study the flapping using a numerical simulation of the near-Earth space. We present a possible explanation for how the flapping could be initiated by a passing disturbance and then maintained as a standing wave.