History of the Flight
The flight departed Nouméa-Magenta Airport at 19:02, approximately one hour behind schedule, bound for Ouvéa-Ouloup Airport. At 19:15, the AFIS officer reported runway 31 in use, wind calm, CAVOK, and runway dry. The pilot flying (PF) briefed an RNP approach to runway 31, planning to disconnect autopilot at 600 ft for an MDA of 530 ft. The approach was stabilized. At approximately 19:35, the PF reduced engine torque and made a nose-up input. The pitch attitude changed from 1.6° nose-down to 6.4° nose-up in six seconds. The main landing gear and tail contacted the runway with a vertical load factor of 2.2 g. After a small bounce, the crew completed the landing and taxied to the stand, where damage to the fuselage was observed.
Context Information
Météo-France reported cloudy skies with bases between 3,000 and 4,000 ft, visibility greater than 10 km, light wind from the north, and no precipitation. The night was dark with no moonlight. Ouvéa-Ouloup Airport has a paved runway 13-31 measuring 1,100 m x 30 m, with a landing distance available of 1,100 m for runway 31. The PAPI is calibrated on a slope of 3.8° to clear obstacles. The RNP approach has a 3.5° slope to an MDA of 530 ft. The approach chart warns that the final approach slope differs from the PAPI slope.
Aircraft Information
The aircraft, an ATR72-212A built in 2017, had a calculated landing weight of 20.4 t and a centre of gravity of 25.4% MAC. The calculated Vapp and Vref were 106 kt. The landing distance at time of arrival was 770 m, providing a margin of 330 m above the required 115% of landing distance. The Flight Crew Training Manual recommends a torque pre-set of approximately 20% for the 3.8° PAPI slope. The tailstrike occurs at a pitch attitude between 5.9° and 8°. Post-incident inspection revealed marks on the tail bumper red lines, indicating compression; no additional damage was found.
Operational Information
The 54-year-old captain held an ATPL(A) with ATR42/72 type rating, and had 14,490 total flight hours, including 8,050 on type and 1,470 night hours. The pilot flying had logged 3,000 hours on type. The crew had identified threats including a short runway and night landing. The captain noted he had only landed three times on runway 31 at Ouvéa as captain; the co-pilot had never landed there.
Conclusion
The incident occurred during a night landing with limited external visual references, resulting in an early flare and tailstrike with the runway. The tail was slightly damaged, with no further consequences.