What happened
A regularly scheduled Federal Express domestic cargo flight arriving from Memphis was performing a routine visual approach to runway 07L at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Prior to the approach, the captain conducted a prelanding briefing that established VREF speeds according to company flight operations policy. The computed VREF speed for landing was set at 143 knots.
During the final stages of the approach, the pilot failed to maintain a stabilized approach. As the aircraft crossed the threshold, the airspeed had decreased to 138 KIAS. Following this point, the aircraft continued to decelerate, reaching a touchdown speed of 122.3 knots with a pitch attitude of 11.1 degrees. Upon touchdown, the pitch attitude increased further, resulting in a tailstrike at a pitch attitude of 13.2 degrees.
The investigation
Data recovered from the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) indicated that the captain relaxed the elevator control back pressure during the landing roll; however, this action was insufficient to prevent the tailstrike. The investigation noted that the flight manual recommends pilots lower the nose upon touchdown to counteract the increase in pitch attitude caused by the activation of ground spoilers.