Hard Landing at EPGD Involving a Bombardier DHC-8-400

Incident Overview and Aircraft Details On 5 October 2016, a hard landing incident occurred involving a Bombardier DHC-8-400 aircraft operated by PLL LOT SA. The event took place at EPGD airport and was classified as an incident by the State Commission for Investigation of Aviation Accidents (PAŃSTWOWA KOMISJA BADANIA WYPADKÓW LOTNICZYCH). The investigation was supervised by Tomasz Makowski and concluded on 14 October 2016. ## Operational Context and Event Sequence During landing on runway 11 VOR DME at 15:57 UTC, the aircraft experienced a hard touchdown accompanied by contact between the rear tail skid and the runway surface. A TOUCHED RUNWAY signal appeared on the CWP panel. Following passenger disembarkation, the captain conducted a walkaround inspection and identified a cracked cover on the tail ground contact sensor. The captain reported the incident via an ASR report and notified the Maintenance Control Center (MCC) and Operations Department. ## Investigation Findings and Contributing Factors A mechanic from EPGD airport inspected the aircraft and determined that a return flight could not be completed, requiring a special inspection. The landing occurred under difficult meteorological conditions, including crosswind and rain. The captain reported a gust during touchdown, to which he responded by increasing power with minimal delay. The aircraft began to sink, necessitating an increase in pitch angle. The aircraft's mass was practically equal to the maximum landing weight. The hard landing resulted in an acceleration of 2.4G and contact of the tail ground contact sensor with the runway surface. A contributing factor was the additional workload on the captain related to securing a sick passenger on board after landing. ## Safety Actions and Recommendations The incident was registered in the SMS database and classified according to PLL LOT SA criteria. It was included in aviation safety indicators (SPI) monitored in accordance with the Aviation Safety Management Manual. The PLL LOT SA Safety Committee (KBZL) called on pilots to jointly analyze FDR recordings to identify potential errors and ways to avoid them. The Commission issued no safety recommendations.