What happened
On January 22, 2017, a Jet Airways Ltd. B737-800, registration VT-JTD, was operating flight 9W-276 from Mumbai to Dhaka. During the landing phase at Dhaka airport, the aircraft experienced a sequence of events leading to a serious incident. While the First Officer was acting as the pilot flying, the aircraft approached the runway high on the glide path.
Upon the initial touchdown, the aircraft bounced approximately two feet into the air due to a power-on landing. Following this bounce, the Captain took control of the aircraft and increased thrust to recover. During the subsequent second touchdown, the aircraft's pitch attitude increased significantly, causing the bottom of the fuselage to rub against the runway surface. The aircraft eventually exited the runway and taxied to the parking bay without further incident. There were no injuries to the 160 passengers or 8 crew members on board.
The investigation
An investigation by the AAIB established that the aircraft sustained substantial external and internal damage. Specifically, deep gouges and missing skin material were found along the fuselage, spanning a length of 79 inches. Internal damage included buckled stringer clips and a sheared tie fastener.
Flight data recorder (DFDR) analysis revealed that the pilot flying failed to retard the thrust levers to idle during the flare, resulting in a power-on landing. The investigation also noted that the Captain, while supervising, did not caution the First Officer regarding the improper thrust setting. Furthermore, the investigation found that the Captain's decision to increase thrust following the initial bounce exacerbated the pitch-up tendency. The investigation also noted that the main landing gear oleo strut may not have fully extended in time between the first and second touchdown, reducing ground clearance.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was the fuselage rubbing the runway surface due to a combination of a power-on landing, an improper thrust increase during a bounce recovery, and the deployment of speed brakes while the pitch was increasing.
- The First Officer failed to retard thrust to idle during the flare.
- The Captain failed to intervene or caution the First Officer regarding the improper thrust setting during the approach.
- The Captain's manual intervention to increase thrust after the initial skip contributed to an excessive pitch attitude.
- The First Officer, acting as pilot monitoring after the handover, failed to warn the Captain of the excessive pitch.
- The compression of the landing gear oleo strut during the first impact likely reduced the clearance necessary for the second touchdown.