Occurrence
On 25 May 2007, a Boeing 737-300 aircraft, registered PK-AWP, operated by PT. Indonesia AirAsia as flight QZ 7506 from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta to Polonia Airport (WIMM), Medan. The flight crew consisted of two pilots and three flight attendants, with 129 passengers on board. The Second in Command acted as Pilot Flying, and the Pilot in Command (PIC) acted as Pilot Monitoring.
The flight was uneventful until the approach. The PIC observed that the approach speed was high and at 500 feet decided to take over control and land the aircraft. The pilot felt that the touchdown was positive, and the aircraft continued to exit the runway via taxiway B. During taxi, the pilot experienced vibration in the nose wheel steering. The aircraft parked at bay number 5, and passengers disembarked normally. No injuries occurred.
The Flight Data Recorder (FDR) recorded an indicated airspeed of 190 knots at touchdown, while the target landing speed was approximately 130 knots. The vertical acceleration was 4.8 g.
Damage
During the turnaround check, 14 tie bolts of the left nose wheel were found detached; one tie bolt could not be located. The left nose wheel tire was deflated. The fuselage skin above the nose wheel was wrinkled, and deformation was found in that section. The left main landing gear bearing and axle were also damaged.
Safety Messages
The safety issue identified in the report was related to an unstabilized approach. In 2007, the Indonesian regulator introduced stabilized approach criteria, requiring a go-around when those criteria cannot be met. The flight crew noted the high approach speed, and the FDR recorded a landing speed of 190 knots versus the target of 130 knots. This condition classified as an unstabilized approach and required a go-around. At the time of the accident, understanding of stabilized approach criteria among pilots may have been limited. The implementation of Flight Operation Quality Assurance (FOQA) and Flight Data Analysis (FDA) by operators has since improved compliance with stabilized approach criteria. The report notes that pilot compliance to stabilized approach had improved by the time of publication, as indicated by increased go-around reports triggered by unstabilized approaches.