What happened
On a night flight from Toronto City Centre Airport to Ottawa/Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, a Porter Airlines Inc. Bombardier DHC-8-402, registration C-GLQD, experienced an incident during touchdown on Runway 0．
While the flight was operating under instrument meteorological conditions, the aircraft's descent rate increased significantly below 200 feet. Following a period of unstable pitch and descent, the aircraft's aft fuselage made contact with the runway surface at 2214 EDT. The aircraft was able to taxi to the gate normally, and while the event caused damage to the airframe, there were no injuries to the passengers or crew.
The investigation
The investigation examined the flight crew's performance, the aircraft's configuration, and the effectiveness of existing standard operating procedures (SOPs). The crew was executing the final sector of the day, with the first officer acting as pilot flying.
Investigators analyzed the approach profile, noting that after the autopilot was disengaged at 200 feet, the aircraft's pitch decreased, causing the descent rate to rise from 570 feet per minute to an average of 840 feet per minute. The investigation also reviewed the training status of the crew, noting the first officer was undergoing line indoctrination and had not yet completed specific pitch awareness training. Additionally, the investigation looked into the technical characteristics of the DHC-8-402, specifically its susceptibility to aft fuselage contact at certain pitch angles.
Findings
- The crew likely focused on achieving a successful flare at the expense of monitoring other critical parameters, such as the glideslope and descent rate.
- The captain provided vague instructions regarding power management, which led to insufficient torque adjustments to arrest the increasing descent rate.
- The aircraft's pitch increased rapidly from 3.1° to 7.5° during the flare, reaching the critical contact angle.
- The existing pitch awareness callout SOPs were ineffective because the pitch change occurred too rapidly for the pilot monitoring to alert the pilot flying.
- The first officer's recent experience and the lack of specific simulator training for recovering from high descent rates contributed to the event.