What happened
On February 12, 2014, a Bombardier DHC-8-201, registered JA801B, was conducting touch-and-go flight training at Nagasaki Airport. The flight, operated by Oriental Air Bridge Co., Ltd., involved an instructor captain in the right seat and a trainee in the left seat. During the fourth landing attempt of the session, the aircraft encountered strong crosswinds of approximately 17 knots.
As the aircraft approached the runway, the trainee transitioned from a crab method to a wing-low method to align with the centerline. During this maneuver, the right main landing gear made contact with the runway without sufficient load being applied to the rest of the gear. In an attempt to manage the aircraft, the trainee pushed the control column forward, causing the nose to pitch down excessively. This resulted in a heavy impact as the nose landing gear struck the runway, generating a vertical acceleration of +2.016 G.
Despite the severe impact and a loud thud, the crew continued the training session for several more maneuvers. It was only after the aircraft returned to the apron and the engines were shut down that a mechanic identified structural damage to the nose landing gear and the surrounding fuselage skin.
The investigation
The Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB) examined flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVER) data, alongside interviews with the crew and maintenance personnel. The investigation focused on the flight dynamics during the fourth landing, the pilot's control inputs, and the instructor's oversight. Investigators also inspected the physical damage to the aircraft, which included the deformation of the fuselage skins and damage to the nose landing gear's shock strut brace and piston cap.
Findings
- The primary cause of the damage was a heavy impact of the nose landing gear caused by an excessive nose-down pitch.
- The trainee applied continuous forward pressure on the control column to prevent the nose from pitching up, which intensified the downward force.
- The instructor failed to intervene or perform a corrective takeover operation during the critical moment of the landing.
- The aircraft was operating in significant crosswind conditions, which complicated the landing maneuver.
- The crew continued flight operations after the initial impact, which potentially risked further damage or the creation of foreign object debris (FOD).