Embraer-Empresa Brasileira De ERJ 170-200 LR N224JQ accident near Boston, Massachusetts

Probable cause

The captain’s decision to continue the landing after the bounce and the subsequent misapplication of pitch controls. Contributing to the accident was the ongoing “land and hold short” operations that may have created an urgency to land.

NTSB analysis

Republic Airways, dba Delta Connection, flight 5783 from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), Covington, Kentucky, to General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport (BOS), Boston, Massachusetts, was substantially damaged during a tail strike while landing at BOS. There were no injuries to the 4 crew members and 76 passengers on board.

According to the flight crew, the instrument landing system (ILS) approach to runway 22L was normal, until the initial touchdown. The first officer flew the airplane to the final approach fix and then transferred control to the captain, to comply with company procedures for land and hold short operations, which were in place for the runway at the time. The first officer reported that the approach met company standards for a stabilized approach at both 1,000 and 500 ft above ground level (agl). Slight deviations from the glideslope occurred on short final, for which the captain performed appropriate corrections. The first officer recalled that after an initial touchdown the airplane bounced slightly, and the captain added some more back pressure to the control column as the airplane quickly sank back to the ground. The airplane touched down hard, the captain maintained directional control and the remainder of the landing was uneventful.

A review of the flight recorder data revealed that the computed airspeed at the time of the initial touchdown was about 129 knots, and the pitch attitude was about 8°. As the airplane touched down the second time, the pitch attitude was about 9° and increasing, it then rose to about 14° just after the air/ground parameter changed to ground.

According to the manufacturer’s airplane operations manual, the tail cone of the airplane should contact the ground at a pitch attitude of 14.5° with the landing gear struts fully extended, and at 10.5° with the struts fully compressed. The tail likely stuck the ground as the landing gear struts compressed during the second touchdown.

Figure 1. Damage to aft fuselage and tail cone. (Courtesy: Republic Airways)

The weather reported at BOS near the time of the accident included wind from 200° at 12 knots, visibility 10 miles, and a scattered cloud layer at 2,400 ft agl.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for DCA25LA286 for the full record.