Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot’s incorrect pitch attitude during a bounced landing which resulted in a tailstrike.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
On October 29, 2024, about 1155 eastern daylight time, United Parcel Service (UPS) Company flight 2909 sustained a tailstrike while landing at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF), Louisville, KY. According to the flight crew, the captain was the pilot flying, and the first officer (FO) was the pilot monitoring (PM) when they were cleared for the instrument landing system (ILS) approach to runway 17R at SDF. The airplane was in the landing configuration and on a stabilized approach at 1,000 ft. and 500 ft. above ground level (AGL) respectively per company procedure. After the 500 ft stable callout by the PM, the auto pilot was disengaged and the approach continued with a normal descent rate and the autothrottles engaged. At about 20 ft AGL, power was reduced, and the flare was initiated. The touchdown felt normal, and the PM vocalized the spoiler deployment. Subsequently, the thrust reversers were deployed. The airplane bounced; however, due to the deployment of the thrust reversers a go-around was prohibited. The airplane settled back on the runway and was slowed for taxi. During the taxi, air traffic control advised the flight crew of a possible tailstrike. After the tailstrike, the remainder of the landing rollout and taxi were uneventful. A review of flight data recorder data showed that after the initial touchdown due to excessive energy, the airplane bounced followed by a firm landing. As the airplane’s shock absorber rebounded from the firm landing a nose-up control column was applied and the pitch angle began to increase. Simultaneously, the ground spoilers and thrust reversers continued to deploy, which exacerbated the nose-high attitude and resulted in a pitch angle of about 12 degrees. According to Airbus, after touchdown the flight crew should fly the nosewheel smoothly, but without delay on to the runway, and must be ready to counteract any pitch up effect of the ground spoilers and reverse thrust. The tailstrike resulted in abrasion damage along the aft lower fuselage. An inspection revealed substantial damage to the frames.