American A321 at Charlotte on May 5th 2023, tail strike on landing

Last Update: July 19, 2023 / 15:08:58 GMT/Zulu time

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Incident Facts

Date of incident
May 5, 2023

Classification
Accident

Cause
Tail strike on landing

Airline
American Airlines

Flight number
AA-1753

Departure
Fort Lauderdale, United States

Destination
Charlotte, United States

Aircraft Registration
N921US

Aircraft Type
Airbus A321

ICAO Type Designator
A321

An American Airlines Airbus A321-200, registration N921US performing flight AA-1753 from Fort Lauderdale,FL to Charlotte,NC (USA) with 172 passengers and 5 crew, landed on Charlotte's runway 18L but suffered a tail strike on landing. The aircraft rolled out without further incident.

The FAA reported: "AIRCRAFT EXPERIENCED A TAIL STRIKE ON LANDING, CHARLOTTE, NC.", the damage was UNKNOWN.

The aircraft remained on the ground in Charlotte until May 19th 2023, then positioned to Tulsa,OK (USA) and is on the ground in Tulsa since (standing Jun 8th 2023).

On Jun 8th 2023 the NTSB reported the occurrence was rated an accident, the aircraft received substantial damage when it experienced a tail strike on landing in Charlotte. There were no injuries.

On Jul 19th 2023 the NTSB released their final report concluding the probable cause of the accident was:

The captain’s failure to maintain the appropriate airspeed and pitch attitude during landing which resulted in a tailstrike.

The NTSB analysed:

American Airlines flight 1753 sustained a tailstrike while landing at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), Charlotte, NC. The flight was a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight from Fort Lauderdale, FL to CLT.

According to the flight crew, the captain was the pilot flying, and the first officer (FO) was the pilot monitoring when they were cleared to land on runway 18L at CLT. The airplane was in the landing configuration and on a stabilized approach at 1,000 ft. above ground level (AGL). While crossing the runway’s threshold the wind shifted from a 6 -7 knot headwind component to a 6–7 knot tailwind component, the airspeed began to decay, and the airplane’s sink rate increased.

In an effort to correct for the sink rate the captain applied back sidestick. The airplane touched down firmly and bounced, coincidentally the ground spoilers deployed which resulted in a nose high attitude. The airplane touched down a second time decelerated and taxied uneventfully to the gate.

The captain stated that the ground spoiler deployment coinciding with the bounced touchdown resulted in an airplane nose-up pitch attitude. As a result, the pitch attitude increased until the tail struck the runway. After the tailstrike, and subsequent touchdown the remainder of the landing and landing rollout were normal with no risk of runway overrun or excursion.

The tailstrike resulted in abrasion damage along the aft lower fuselage, over an area of about 14 feet long by 2 feet wide. An inspection revealed substantial damage to several frames.

METARs:
KCLT 052252Z 22007KT 10SM FEW065 FEW180 SCT250 22/08 A3015 RMK AO2 SLP221 T02170078=
KCLT 052152Z 24007KT 10SM FEW065 SCT250 22/07 A3016 RMK AO2 SLP222 T02220072=
KCLT 052052Z 23009KT 10SM FEW065 SCT250 23/07 A3015 RMK AO2 SLP220 T02330067 57013=
KCLT 051952Z 21009KT 10SM FEW065 BKN250 23/07 A3016 RMK SLP224 T02330067=
KCLT 051852Z 16009KT 10SM FEW065 FEW200 BKN250 22/06 A3018 RMK SLP231 T02220056=
KCLT 051752Z VRB04KT 10SM FEW060 FEW200 BKN250 22/05 A3019 RMK SLP235 T02170050 10222 20139 58005=
KCLT 051652Z 00000KT 10SM FEW200 BKN250 21/05 A3022 RMK SLP243 T02060050=
Aircraft Registration Data
Registration mark
N921US
Country of Registration
United States
Date of Registration
Ecemm ne qpfc idl Subscribe to unlock
TCDS Ident. No.
Nhjid Subscribe to unlock
Manufacturer
AIRBUS
Aircraft Model / Type
A321-231
Number of Seats
Bjp Subscribe to unlock
ICAO Aircraft Type
A321
Year of Manufacture
MflA Subscribe to unlock
Serial Number
Ejqb Subscribe to unlock
Aircraft Address / Mode S Code (HEX)
D mlmA Subscribe to unlock
Engine Count
E Subscribe to unlock
Engine Manufacturer
Kqf Subscribe to unlock
Engine Model
Kh kgmei Subscribe to unlock
Engine Type
mbdqflbg Subscribe to unlock
Pounds of Thrust
Qkkg Subscribe to unlock
Main Owner
Qicli hk bq ipAibfpkdffAdmqiecnAjeb li nflgjiefpp qmAhn gjmchAqcngblcmg liAhinle Subscribe to unlock
Incident Facts

Date of incident
May 5, 2023

Classification
Accident

Cause
Tail strike on landing

Airline
American Airlines

Flight number
AA-1753

Departure
Fort Lauderdale, United States

Destination
Charlotte, United States

Aircraft Registration
N921US

Aircraft Type
Airbus A321

ICAO Type Designator
A321

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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