Date:	Wednesday 18 April 2001
Time:	07:26
Type:	Airbus A321-211
Owner/operator:	Airtours International
Registration:	G-VOLH
MSN:	823
Year of manufacture:	1998
Engine model:	CFMI CFM56-5B3/P
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 174
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Category:	Accident
Location:	Funchal Airport (FNC/LPFU) -   Portugal
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi
Departure airport:	Manchester International Airport (MAN/EGCC)
Destination airport:	Funchal Airport (FNC/LPFU)
Investigating agency:	GPIAA
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
At 07:26 UTC hours, the A321-211 G-VOLH departed Manchester for a charter flight with Funchal Airport (Madeira Island) as destination.
The flight was an uneventful transit until the landing. The aerodrome was clearly visible and the commander made a visual approach in accordance to the aerodrome STAR charts.
The approach was stabilized, despite the aircraft encountering a windshear at GELO. At 30 feet RA the commander noticed that the aircraft had developed a high sink rate and he attempted to decrease the rate of descent with full aft side stick but the aircraft landed heavily and bounced. At the second touch down the aircraft tail contacted the runway.
The aircraft had suffered tail structural damage. There were no personal injuries

Causes
The investigation concluded that the marked backing of the wind, probably due to turbulence from the adjacent high ground, had caused the loss of headwind component.
The application of full aft side stick had reduced the vertical speed of the initial touch down. In an attempt to cushion the second touch down by maintaining a degree of aft side stick during the bounce, the aircraft had continued to pitch up beyond the aircraft geometry limit causing the tail section to contact the runway.

ICAO
local press: Diário de Notícias da Madeira 19-04-2001

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
18-Sep-2024 18:53	ASN	Added
18-Sep-2024 19:24	ASN	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, Accident report, ]
18-Sep-2024 19:25	ASN	Updated [Location, Destination airport, ]
28-Jun-2025 16:20	nunocaldeira	Updated [Time, Location, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, ]
28-Jun-2025 16:21	ASN	Updated [Location, Destination airport, ]