Narrative:
An Airbus A320-211 sustained substantial damage in a tail strike accident at Sendai Airport (SDJ/RJSS), Japan. ANA Flight NH731, had departed Osaka-Itami International Airport (ITM/RJOO) on a domestic service to Sendai. The captain was Pilot Flying.
The en route part of the flight was uneventful and the weather at Sendai was fine. At 09:00 the flight was cleared to land on runway 27. Wind was reported from 160 degrees at 2 knots.
At 09:03:04 the aircraft passed the runway threshold at a height of 50 feet and the captain felt the airplane floated. The right hand main landing gear touched down softly at 09:03:14. Four seconds later the captain pulled the reverse levers. Almost at the same time, he felt some vibrations from the airframe like stall buffeting and thought that it was not a normal landing. Determining that the aircraft was still in the air, the captain decided to go around, shifting the thrust levers to TO/GA positions. The nose was raised sharply, reaching +12.7 degrees. The tail struck the runway, causing a 40 cm * 3 m gash and a distorted rear bulkhead. The airplane circled and landed safely at 09:27. There were no injuries among the 166 passengers and crew.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "In this accident, it is highly probable that when the Aircraft rejected the landing after touching Runway 27, its nose was raised sharply, causing the lower part of the rear fuselage to contact with the runway and be damaged.
It is highly probable that the substantial pitch-up moment caused the quick Aircraft nose-up with the following reasons: The captain decided to reject the landing under the circumstance where he could not recognize the touchdown of main landing gears due to the soft landing;
Balanced pitching moment was disrupted by the captains nose-up elevator input as his go-around was initiated from the full-aft sidestick position."
Runway mishap
» Japan Today
accident date: 05-02-2012
type: Airbus A320-211
registration: JA8384
Events during landing on runway 27
Approach and landing profile
FDR readout
accident date: 05-02-2012
type: Airbus A320-211
registration: JA8384
| Status: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
| Date: | Sunday 5 February 2012 |
| Time: | 09:03 |
| Type: |  Airbus A320-211 |
| Operator: | All Nippon Airways - ANA |
| Registration: | JA8384 |
| MSN: | 151 |
| First flight: | 1990-12-21 (21 years 2 months) |
| Total airframe hrs: | 43423 |
| Engines: | 2 CFMI CFM56-5A1 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 6 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 160 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 166 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Location: | Sendai Airport (SDJ) ( Japan)
|
| Phase: | Landing (LDG) |
| Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Osaka-Itami Airport (ITM/RJOO), Japan |
| Sendai Airport (SDJ/RJSS), Japan | |
| Flightnumber: | 731 |
An Airbus A320-211 sustained substantial damage in a tail strike accident at Sendai Airport (SDJ/RJSS), Japan. ANA Flight NH731, had departed Osaka-Itami International Airport (ITM/RJOO) on a domestic service to Sendai. The captain was Pilot Flying.
The en route part of the flight was uneventful and the weather at Sendai was fine. At 09:00 the flight was cleared to land on runway 27. Wind was reported from 160 degrees at 2 knots.
At 09:03:04 the aircraft passed the runway threshold at a height of 50 feet and the captain felt the airplane floated. The right hand main landing gear touched down softly at 09:03:14. Four seconds later the captain pulled the reverse levers. Almost at the same time, he felt some vibrations from the airframe like stall buffeting and thought that it was not a normal landing. Determining that the aircraft was still in the air, the captain decided to go around, shifting the thrust levers to TO/GA positions. The nose was raised sharply, reaching +12.7 degrees. The tail struck the runway, causing a 40 cm * 3 m gash and a distorted rear bulkhead. The airplane circled and landed safely at 09:27. There were no injuries among the 166 passengers and crew.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "In this accident, it is highly probable that when the Aircraft rejected the landing after touching Runway 27, its nose was raised sharply, causing the lower part of the rear fuselage to contact with the runway and be damaged.
It is highly probable that the substantial pitch-up moment caused the quick Aircraft nose-up with the following reasons: The captain decided to reject the landing under the circumstance where he could not recognize the touchdown of main landing gears due to the soft landing;
Balanced pitching moment was disrupted by the captains nose-up elevator input as his go-around was initiated from the full-aft sidestick position."
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Classification:
TailstrikeRunway mishap
Sources:
» JTSB» Japan Today
Photos
accident date: 05-02-2012
type: Airbus A320-211
registration: JA8384
Events during landing on runway 27
Approach and landing profile
FDR readout
accident date: 05-02-2012
type: Airbus A320-211
registration: JA8384
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Osaka-Itami Airport to Sendai Airport as the crow flies is 611 km (382 miles).
Accident location: Exact; deduced from official accident report.
Distance from Osaka-Itami Airport to Sendai Airport as the crow flies is 611 km (382 miles).
Accident location: Exact; deduced from official accident report.
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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