2009-07 · NASA ASRS report 844295
CRJ900 flight crew reported wing tip contacting the runway during landing causing damage. Post flight did not reveal the damage; which was discovered later.
While in the landing flare on Runway 21 the airplane was caught by a gust of wind from a different direction than the current sustained winds causing the left wing to lift rapidly; striking the right wing tip on the pavement before I could correct for it. The ATIS was announcing winds of 160@13g18 (from what I can remember) and the gust that caught the wing came from more of a west direction at what speed I don't know. This wing lift came right at the point where I was retarding power to settle the mains on runway. I reacted to the right wing dipping as soon as I felt it. I did not think it was enough of a bank to strike the wing tip; and did not feel any indication that the wing had hit the ground. I taxied the aircraft into the gate and terminated the flight normally. As I was taxing in their was another aircraft on final and I made a wind gust report to let them know about the variable gusts we had experienced. On post flight I looked over the right winglet to make sure that I did not strike it on the ground. I missed the damage even after looking it over with the flashlight. After seeing the pictures taken in daylight after maintenance. Cleaned up the area I cannot explain why I didn't see it. I did not know that I had struck the wing tip until receiving a phone call. This event happened as a result of an unanticipated gust of wind that was from a different direction than the sustained winds we had experienced on the approach. The damage should have been found on post flight but was not. The only thing that could have helped this would be a better lighted ramp so that I did not have to depend solely on a flashlight to find a problem with the airplane. Having run through this event many times I don't know how I could have reacted to the wing dipping any quicker than I did. The only time I have experienced anything close to how rapid and abrupt the bank increased was when I was caught in the wake turbulence of another aircraft up in cruise altitude. Having never been to this airport before that night I am unaware if there would be any kind of geographic feature that could produce this kind of variable wind gusts. As for missing the damage on post flight; I would suggest more ramp lighting to not have to depend on just a flashlight for post flights at night. I thought I did a through preflight; but with missing this damage; even after specifically looking for it; I need to tighten up my post flights
The latest weather we received was nearly an hour old and indicated winds of 150 at 14KTS gusts 22 with an overcast ceiling of 1100 and 15SM visibility. We made the decision to land on Runway 21 with a slight crosswind following a localizer backcourse approach. The approach was stable and properly configured with only small corrections in power to adjust for the wind gusts. As the Captain who was the pilot flying reduced the power in the flare a wind gust caused the aircraft to bank left just before initial touchdown. The Captain corrected for the wind the aircraft touched down left main first in a left bank and the aircraft landing proceeded normally and safely. Upon post flight visual inspection of the aircraft the Captain noticed no damage. However we were later informed that the left wing did have damage.The event occurred due to a wind gust just prior to aircraft touchdown and caused the airspeed to decrease by 5 knots and the left wing to drop. Neither the Captain nor myself heard or felt anything that would indicate that we definitely struck the wingtip however we knew that it was a close call. After landing the Captain went outside to post flight and he noticed no damage to the airplane.I do not believe there is anything that could have been done to prevent the wing from striking the ground. The pilot flying made the proper corrections but due to the phase of flight it was impossible to abort the landing in time or to fully correct the left bank caused by the wind gust. Since we neither heard nor felt a wing strike; after landing the Captain made his usual post flight and just to be sure took extra time inspecting the left wing with a flashlight in which he noticed no damage. The only recommendation I have is in a similar situation to have another pilot inspect the area where there may have been damage just to get another set of eyes looking for possible damage.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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