What happened
On 14 August 1998, an Airbus A3/21-231, registration G-MIDA, was performing a scheduled public transport flight from Dublin to London Heathrow. During the second landing of a double rotation at Dublin Airport, the aircraft experienced a hard touchdown on Runway 28. Following the initial contact, the aircraft bounced, with the right main landing gear briefly lifting off the ground while the left gear remained in contact.
As the aircraft transitioned through the bounce, the pitch attitude continued to increase. Although the crew attempted to correct the flight path, the aircraft's tail made contact with the runway. The crew, unaware that a tailstrike had occurred, noted only a firm landing and decided that a formal heavy landing check was unnecessary. During the turnaround in Dublin, cabin crew reported a clanking noise in the rear galley, which the commander attributed to galley equipment shifting due to the landing impact.
Upon departure for Heathrow, the aircraft encountered significant issues during its climb. Passing FL 150, the crew observed a rapid increase in cabin altitude, accompanied by a loud 'whooshing' sound reported by the cabin crew. The commander responded by leveling the aircraft at FL 170 and eventually requesting a descent to FL 90 to stabilize the cabin pressure. The aircraft landed safely at Heathrow, where a subsequent inspection revealed the damage.
The investigation
The AAIB investigation utilized data from the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) to reconstruct the landing sequence. The FDR revealed that the aircraft was descending at approximately 900 feet per minute shortly before touchdown. The investigation established that the tailstrike occurred during the second touchdown of the bounce sequence.
Physical examination of the aircraft showed abrasion damage to the underside of the fuselage between frames 63 and 68. The damage was most severe at frames 64, 65, and 66, where the fuselage skin had been ground away to the point that the skin became detached from the aft edge of frame 65. This structural compromise was the direct cause of the depressurization difficulties experienced during the climb to FL 150.
Findings
- The tailstrike was caused by a combination of the automatic deployment of ground spoilers, the residual nose-up elevator demand, and the aircraft's pitching inertia during the landing flare.
- The crew was unaware of the tailstrike at the time of the incident.
- The damage to the fuselage skin went undetected during the ground turnaround in Dublin.
- The engineer performing the turnaround inspection may have been distracted by surrounding ground equipment, preventing the discovery of the tail area damage.
- The commander's decision to descend the aircraft to stabilize the cabin altitude was appropriate.