Pilot Debrief

BOEING 757 near Raleigh, NC — 2017-05-21

Final reportDCA17LA122
Sign in to save
Date
2017-05-21
Location
Raleigh, NC, USA
Airport
KRDU
Aircraft
BOEING 757
Registration
N633DL
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

the first officer's failure to attain a proper landing flare, which resulted in a tail strike.

NTSB narrative

The crew of the Part 121 scheduled passenger flight reported that the landing approach at the destination was stable. The first officer, who was the pilot flying, stated that the airplane was slightly high and fast when he began the landing flare and he pushed the nose down to correct. He then determined that he had overcorrected and began to recover by pulling the control column aft when the airplane landed firmly on the main landing gear and the aft fuselage impacted the runway. Postflight inspection revealed an area of abrasion damage to the aft fuselage and the underlying stringers and frames and damage to the aft pressure bulkhead.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
First officer could have maintained descent instead of pulling back on the yoke.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • CVR
  • FDR / data
  • 5 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents5

Related mishaps