Pilot Debrief

BOEING 767 near New York, NY — 2009-04-20

Final reportDCA09FA045
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Date
2009-04-20
Location
New York, NY, USA
Airport
KJFK
Aircraft
BOEING 767
Registration
CN-RNT
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Landing

Probable cause

The first officer’s input of full nose down elevator at touchdown. Contributing to the accident was the gusty wind conditions.

Contributing factors

Contributing to the accident was the gusty wind conditions.

NTSB narrative

During the initial approach, gusty wind conditions could be seen in the recorder airspeed data consistent with the weather conditions broadcast to the flight crew (16 knots gusting to 24 knots). As a result, the flight crew added an appropriate wind additive to the reference landing speed (Vref). The airplane touched down in the touchdown zone approximately 1,600 feet from the threshold with a recorded normal acceleration (Nz) consistent with a “firm” landing. As the main gear touched down, a full nose down column was applied that produced a very high nose-down pitch rate, which resulted in a hard nose gear touchdown. The recorded normal acceleration at nose gear touchdown was 1.8 g, however, the actual load applied at the nose gear was much higher because the accelerometers are located in the main gear wheel well. The peak nose gear load experienced at nose gear contact exceeded the design-limit load by as much as 46%. The recorded normal and pitch accelerations, calculated data, and estimated nose gear loads confirm that the aircraft experienced a bending moment that exceeded both the design requirements and the structural capability of the fuselage.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Controlled flight into terrain
First missed decision gate
Crew could have executed a go-around instead of continuing the landing.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • FDR / data
  • Photos
  • 12 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents12

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