EMB-175 flight crew reported a hard landing resulted when they encountered wake turbulence just before landing at DFW.
Synopsis
EMB-175 flight crew reported a hard landing resulted when they encountered wake turbulence just before landing at DFW.
Narrative
Qualified Upgrade 4th flight. 2nd landing; 1st landing at night. Normal approach; stable at 1000ft. 500ft Vapp sink 700. We were about 2.5 miles in trail of another aircraft landing the same runway. Crew noticed wake turbulence associated with this. Around 50 ft I noticed a higher than normal sink rate. As I noticed this I moved my hand to the yoke. Around 30 ft I began applying backpressure along with the student. Sink rate slowed. However; there was not enough time to fully arrest the abnormal sink rate. This resulted in what I would describe as a hard landing.Cause: CA IOE first trip; 2nd landing; 1st at night. I believe that after a long day the student initially picked a sight picture that he may have been taught to use in the simulator as a way to not land outside of the touchdown zone. I also believe he may not have corrected his assumptions for night as he had not flown the actual aircraft in multiple weeks. Suggestions: Better situational awareness and use of all available resources. RA callouts; and VSI during landing phase.
Second reporter narrative
Stable approach using Autopilot and Autothrottle at night ended with a hard landing. Autopilot disconnected around 500' but Autothrottles were left on. Cause: Night illusion on approach to land; first night landing in the left seat; wake turbulence on landing.Suggestions: I should have stayed slightly above the glide slope knowing that we were coming in behind a mainline aircraft. The crew had experienced about 2 seconds of wake turbulence around 3000' on localizer. With it being my first landing at night while in the left seat; I could have asked the Check Airman to be ready to assist with minor corrections. I was a flight instructor for just over 2years and know full well that night landings are rarely smooth the first few times a student does them due to night illusions and a different sight picture.
NASA callback
Reporter stated the aircraft they were following was a B737 or A320 series; and the wake encounter was definitely a factor in the hard landing.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.