What happened
During a normal landing sequence involving manual throttle use and automatic ground spoilers, the flight crew reported that the aircraft's nose pitched up violently immediately after the main landing gear made contact with the runway. This sudden movement caused the underside of the aircraft's tail to scrape against the runway surface.
The investigation
Data retrieved from the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) revealed that following the touchdown of the main gear, the nose of the aircraft was lowered at an excessive rate. In response to this rapid descent, the crew provided a large, aft yoke input intended to arrest the rate of the nose sink.
As the nose gear contacted the runway while this aft yoke input was being maintained, the ground spoilers extended to 60 degrees. According to the aircraft manufacturer, the specific combination of these inputs and the extension of the spoilers during this scenario would result in a sudden pitch-up of the nose.