What happened
During the final approach, at approximately 100 feet above ground level, the aircraft experienced a significant loss of indicated airspeed and encountered a high sink rate. At 47 feet above touchdown, while traveling at 126 knots, the airplane began to rotate and descended to 3 feet above the surface in three seconds, with the airspeed dropping to 109 knots.
The flight ended in a hard landing at 110 knots while full power was being developed. The touchdown occurred with a nose-up attitude of 8.334 degrees and a vertical acceleration of 2.246 G. As a result of the impact, the lower aft body of the aircraft in the area of the tail skid was crushed inward, resulting in structural damage.
Findings
Investigation into the event noted that the Low Level Windshear Alert System (LLWAS) did not activate. However, researchers from NCAR reported that a localized microburst could occur without triggering the LLWAS.