What happened
On 9 October 2000, an Airbus A321, registration D-AIRE, was performing a public transport flight from Stuttgart to London Heathrow. The flight was operating in rainy conditions with a significant crosswind. During the final stages of the approach to Runway 27 Left, the crew transitioned from autopilot to manual flight.
As the aircraft descended, it deviated from the glideslope. The First Officer attempted to correct the flight path by applying nose-down inputs to descend back to the glidepath after the aircraft had become too high. This correction resulted in a high rate of descent, triggering a 'SINK RATE' warning from the Ground Prokers Proximity Warning System. To arrest the descent and cushion the landing, the commander applied significant aft sidestick input.
The aircraft experienced a bounce upon its initial touchdown. During the subsequent second touchdown, the aircraft's pitch attitude increased rapidly. The tail of the aircraft made contact with the runway surface, causing longitudinal abrasion to the rear fuselage between frames 64 and 68. There were no fatalities and no injuries to the 170 passengers or 8 crew members on board.
The investigation
Investigators examined the damage to the fuselage and reviewed data from the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR). The inspection revealed severe skin abrasion on the lower part of the rear fuselage, though the internal frames remained undamaged.
The FDR data showed that while the approach was initially stable, the aircraft became unstable in its final stages. The investigation noted that the First Officer's attempt to correct the aircraft's position at a very low altitude (approximately 100 feet) created a downward momentum that was difficult to arrest. The commander's subsequent heavy aft sidestick input, intended to prevent the nose gear from hitting the ground too hard, contributed to the high pitch angle that caused the tail strike.
Findings
- The approach became unstable during the final stages due to the aircraft's deviation from the glideslope.
- The primary cause was the attempt by the First Officer to regain the normal glideslope after the aircraft had risen 1.8 dots above the path at 100 feet.
- Gusty wind conditions and a varying headwind component contributed to the difficulty in maintaining a stable approach.
- The commander's significant aft sidestick input during the second touchdown increased the pitch attitude to a level that exceeded the aircraft's tail strike limits.