Pilot Debrief

AIRBUS 321 near Las Vegas, NV — 2013-04-05

Final reportDCA13FA071
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Date
2013-04-05
Location
Las Vegas, NV, USA
Airport
LAS
Aircraft
AIRBUS 321
Registration
N560UW
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

the captain's improper recovery from a bounced landing which resulted in a tailstrike.

NTSB narrative

The flight crew stated that the captain was the pilot flying and the first officer was the pilot monitoring. The captain stated that, once he turned off the autopilot while on the approach to runway 25L, he thought "the winds seemed a little stronger…" than what was reported, and it felt "a little squirrelly." He said he initiated the flare within about 20 feet above the ground and pitched up for the flare, but stated he did not feel any pitch response, so he brought the nose up a little more to arrest the descent. Upon initial touchdown, he estimated that the airplane bounced about 5-10 feet back into the air. On the subsequent touchdown, the airplane's tail struck the runway. Postaccident investigation revealed substantial damage to the underbelly and aft bulkhead area. The skin was abraded over a large area through its thickness in several areas of the pressure vessel . One frame was fractured along with several fractured shear ties and frame clips.

NTSB coding

View NTSB final report

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