B737 flight crew reported encountering wake or atmospheric turbulence on short final at DEN; resulting in a bounced landing and go-around.
Synopsis
B737 flight crew reported encountering wake or atmospheric turbulence on short final at DEN; resulting in a bounced landing and go-around.
Narrative
Landing Runway 17R in Denver (at night) via the visual approach; the aircraft in front of me went around due to traffic in front not clear of the runway. The traffic in front of me went around; I continued to land and at about 30 feet AGL; the wind was shifting around and we went through some rough air. Could have been due to wake turbulence from the preceding aircraft or the actual wind. I was continually; slowly adding power from 50 feet to 10 feet as the indicated airspeed was decreasing; I initiated a go-around at approximately 10 feet by adding almost full power initially. We touched down after I initiated the go-around. After the aircraft was safely climbing; we executed a normal go-around and came back around to land on Runway 17R uneventfully. Erring on the side of extreme caution; I inspected the tail skid after landing and there was no damage. The First Officer (FO) made a simple PA announcement explaining we went around for rough air on final. I directed him to check in with the flight attendants as well; and there were no issues.
Second reporter narrative
We were conducting the visual approach to RWY 17R into DEN. Between 100 ft. and 30 ft.; the headwind died rapidly; and we also encountered moderate turbulence / possible wake turbulence. Captain (pilot flying) added the necessary thrust to maintain approach speed. The aircraft began to descend rapidly; and he decided to initiate a go around at 30 feet. The aircraft touched down firmly on the main wheels and bounced. He kept the pitch steady and once safely clear of the ground; initiated the go-around callouts. The bounced landing / go-around went flawlessly. After the after takeoff checklist; I made a PA advising the passengers about the event. I also called the Flight Attendants and advised of the situation and made sure everyone was OK. We made left traffic and landed uneventfully on the same runway. The Captain conducted a post flight walk around and verified no aircraft damage was sustained.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.