What happened
On the evening of August 10, 2009, an Air Nippon Boeing 737-800, registered JA56AN, was performing a scheduled flight from Tottori Airport to Tokyo International Airport. The flight, operating as All Nippon Airways Flight 298, carried 147 passengers and 6 crew members.
During the landing phase on runway 2/2, the aircraft experienced a sequence of events that led to structural damage. While the initial touchdown appeared normal, the aircraft immediately bounced. During this bounce, the first officer (acting as pilot-flying) applied significant control column inputs and retarded the thrust levers to idle. This action triggered the automatic deployment of the speed brakes. Upon the second touchdown, the aircraft's pitch angle increased significantly, causing the aft fuselage and tail skid to strike the runway surface. The impact left scratch marks on the runway stretching approximately 67 meters. There were no injuries among the 153 people on board, though the aircraft sustained substantial damage to the lower skin panels, frames, and tail skid assembly.
The investigation
The Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB) examined flight data from the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), alongside interviews with the crew. The investigation focused on the flight control movements, the timing of thrust lever retardation, and the deployment of the auto speed brake. Investigators also analyzed the physical damage to the aircraft's aft section and the marks left on the runway to reconstruct the aircraft's pitch attitude and vertical acceleration during the bounce and subsequent impact.