What happened
On March 7, 2013, at 19:21 Eastern Standard Time, a Boeing 757-200, registration N698DL, was operating as Delta Air Lines flight 1693 from Orange County Airport (KSNA) to Hartsfield Jackson International Airport (KATL). The flight crew reported that the preflight, departure, and enroute portions of the flight were normal. During the landing on runway 28, the captain reported the aircraft experienced a "float" while he attempted to maintain the landing attitude. The approach was conducted with 25 degrees of flaps at a Vref speed of 129 knots.
Upon touchdown, the first officer noted that the speedbrakes had not activated and manually deployed them. The aircraft then taxied to the gate without further incident. During subsequent preparations for the next flight, maintenance personnel identified damage to the tail section. An inspection of the aircraft revealed an 8-foot scrape on the lower aft fuselage, damage to several stringers, and buckling of the aft pressurization dome. There were no injuries among the 2 flight crew, 4 flight attendants, or 142 passengers.
The investigation
Flight Data Recorder (FDR) analysis showed an initial touchdown followed by a brief deactivation of the gear squat switch, which was consistent with a light touchdown or a slight bounce. Following this, the speedbrakes were manually deployed. The data showed the airspeed decayed to approximately 115 knots and the pitch attitude increased to about 11 degrees. According to the Delta 757/767 Flight Crew Training Manual, runway contact is possible when the pitch attitude exceeds 10.5 degrees if the airspeed is 10 knots below Vref and flaps are at 25.