Aircraft and Flight Details
On 2 July 2013, SriLankan Airlines Flight UL266, an Airbus A340-311 bearing registration 4R-ADA, was operating a scheduled flight from Riyadh to Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The aircraft was manufactured by Airbus and operated by SriLankan Airlines.
Incident Description
During the landing at Bandaranaike International Airport, the aircraft experienced a hard landing and a tail strike. The incident was reported to the Flight Safety Division of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) by the Quality Assurance Department of SriLankan Airlines. The Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) were removed and secured for investigation.
Investigation
The CAASL appointed an Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) comprising six members from operations and airworthiness specialties. The Air Accident Investigation Bureau of Singapore assisted in decoding the DFDR data and providing graphical projections with video animation. The Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses (BEA) of France, as the state of design and manufacture, was also notified. The investigation included interviews with the flight crew, analysis of flight data, and examination of ground equipment and organizational factors.
Probable Causes
The investigation concluded that the probable causes of the incident were a hard landing and a tail strike. No other causal factors were explicitly stated in the report.