Incident Overview
On March 5, 2016, at 6:31 Mountain Standard Time, a Boeing 767-300 aircraft, registration N305UP, operated by United Parcel Service (UPS) as Flight 916, was substantially damaged after a tailstrike during landing on runway 03 at Albuquerque International Sunport Airport (ABQ), Albuquerque, New Mexico. Neither of the two flight crew members were injured. The flight originated from Louisville International Airport (SDF), Louisville, Kentucky.
Aircraft Damage
The airplane sustained damage to a 23-foot-long section of lower fuselage skin, four fuselage stringers, five fuselage frames, three floor stringers, and the tail skid. The replacement of the frames and stringers was considered a major repair and qualified as substantial damage in accordance with 49 CFR 830.2.
Flight Crew Actions and Approach
According to the operator, the captain was the pilot flying, and the first officer was the pilot monitoring for the flight from SDF to ABQ. Ground operations at SDF were normal, and no aircraft loading or weight and balance discrepancies were noted. The climb, cruise, and descent were uneventful. Weather conditions at ABQ prior to arrival were reported as visual conditions, with wind from 090 degrees at 20 knots, gusting to 29 knots. The target approach speed used was 146 knots.
The crew was vectored to the ILS approach to runway 03 and joined the localizer and glideslope using the autopilot. The autopilot was disengaged at 1,103 feet height above touchdown (HAT). At 1,000 feet HAT, the approach met all UPS stabilized approach criteria with the aircraft fully configured at flaps 30, gear down, and speed 145 knots. At 500 feet HAT, the approach continued to meet all stabilized approach criteria with a speed of 146 knots. Flight data indicated that the crosswind component at this point was 23 knots from the right.
Final Approach and Touchdown
At 158 feet above touchdown, the approach met all stabilized approach criteria, and the captain disconnected the autothrottles. UPS guidance recommends use of the autothrottle until 50 feet above touchdown. From this point until touchdown, the aircraft pitch attitude began to increase as airspeed slowly decreased. Flight data indicated that the thrust levers were at a reduced thrust setting when the autothrottles were disconnected and remained at that setting until touchdown. At 1.75 seconds from touchdown, the airspeed had decayed to 129 knots, and the aircraft pitch had increased to 7.2 degrees. The crosswind had also decreased and was now 13 knots from the right. At touchdown, the airspeed was 128 knots, and pitch attitude was 8.4 degrees. The tailskid impacted the runway at touchdown, followed immediately by the lower aft fuselage as the pitch attitude increased momentarily to 8.6 degrees. Initial tailskid impact occurred approximately 800 feet from the runway threshold.
Crew Report
The crew reported that they encountered a 10-knot wind loss just prior to touchdown and landed firmer than normal but did not suspect that they had struck the tailskid.