Approach and Weather Conditions
The flight from Buffalo was reported as choppy, and the choppy conditions continued during the descent. Weather was noted on the airborne radar southwest and northwest of the airport. As the aircraft approached the outer marker, the crew observed cloud-to-ground lightning near the airport and were informed that a thunderstorm was 2–3 miles west of the airport, moving toward it. The rain was light at the outer marker, but as they proceeded inbound, the intensity increased.
Landing and Gear Collapse
The pilot stated that he thought they had more space to flare. He reported that the landing was not hard, but the aircraft bounced. On the second contact with the runway, the nose came down to the runway. The nose gear had collapsed aft into the lower fuselage, damaging the bulkhead at station 294.5.
Flight Recorder Data
The flight recorder readout revealed a sudden increase in airspeed and sink rate during the last 8 seconds prior to runway contact.