Event Details
On 22 July 2001 at 20:49 UTC, a Boeing 737-400 (registration F-GRNZ) operated by Euralair Horizons was completing an ILS approach to runway 07 at Monastir Habib Bourguiba Airport in Tunisia. The flight was a non-scheduled international passenger service from Paris Charles de Gaulle. The copilot was the pilot flying. Weather conditions were good, with night visibility, CAVOK, wind 110° at 7 knots, temperature 25°C, and QNH 1015 hPa.
The calculated landing mass was 52.4 tonnes, and the reference speed (Vref) was 138 knots, derived from the flight management system and confirmed by the aircraft flight manual. The crew added 8 knots to this speed. During the flare, at the callout of ten feet from the radio altimeter, the copilot felt a slight sinking sensation. He did not reduce thrust in an attempt to reduce the sink rate without decreasing speed.
The touchdown was described as standard, but the aircraft bounced. It remained airborne for a period with a significant nose-up pitch attitude, during which the copilot lost outside visual references. The captain ordered a thrust reduction, and the aircraft contacted the runway with an unusual noise. After parking, the captain noted that the tail skid was scuffed and slightly compressed, but its position indicator remained within the green range, so he decided to proceed with the return flight to Paris.
Aircraft Damage
Upon arrival at Paris, during daylight, a maintenance team conducted an inspection. The tail skid showed damage, and a Phase I visual inspection revealed wrinkled and heavily abraded skin on the lower fuselage, with tears between frames BS847 and BS967. A Phase II inspection found structural deformations, including damaged stringers and frames. In total, 15 stringers, 5 frames, and two skin panels, along with the entire tail skid assembly, required replacement. The aircraft was ferried to Le Bourget for repairs.
Probable Cause
The investigation determined that the probable cause of the accident was the late go-around by the pilot flying, followed by an excessively abrupt thrust increase by the captain, on an aircraft that already had an excessive pitch-up attitude.