Airbus A321-271NX N2188J accident near San Francisco, California

Probable cause

The first officer’s excessive aft sidestick input combined with decaying airspeed during initiation of a go-around, resulting in an increase in the airplane pitch attitude and subsequent lower fuselage contacting the runway.

NTSB analysis

JetBlue Airways flight 2233 experienced a tailstrike while attempting to land on runway 28L at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California. The scheduled domestic passenger flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121. The airplane sustained substantial damage and there were no injuries to the 6 crew and 148 passengers onboard.

According to the flight crew, the final approach and landing were uneventful, and the winds were described as “light”. The first officer (FO), who was the pilot flying, recalled the left main landing gear touched down before the right main landing gear and believed they encountered minor wake turbulence from the departing aircraft. The captain, who was the pilot monitoring, recalled the main landing gear touching down normally. The FO stated the airplane did not settle toward the runway as expected, at which point the FO decided to initiate a go-around because he was unsure if they would complete the transition to landing within the first 3,000 ft of runway. The captain shifted his attention during touchdown from the outside to the lower navigation display, then back to outside when the FO called out the go-around. The FO recalled feeling a “thud” during initiation of the go-around. The second approach and landing onto runway 28L at SFO was accomplished without incident.

Postlanding inspection of the airplane by the captain revealed substantial damage to the lower fuselage consistent with its contact with the runway. There was no reported mechanical malfunction that contributed to excessive airplane pitch angle when the airplane touched down on the runway. The recorded flight data showed the airplane bounced after initial touchdown. About 3 seconds later, the FO sidestick parameter showed a full aft input, for a duration of 2 seconds, while the engine throttles advanced to takeoff/go-around (TOGA) power and the main landing gear was still contacting the ground. The airplane’s pitch angle increased from 5.4° to 11° during the 2-second full aft sidestick input, and the airplane’s pitch angle further increased and peaked at 15.4° two seconds later while the airplane was still in close proximity to the ground. During this timeframe, airspeed decayed to about 12 knots below the target approach speed during the full aft sidestick input before airspeed began to increase.

The operator’s flight crew procedures for a bounce at touchdown include the instructions “do not allow the pitch attitude to increase…” and for a low bounce, the pilot should maintain pitch attitude and complete the landing while keeping the thrust at idle. Furthermore, for a high bounce, if the safe outcome of a bounce is in question, to maintain the pitch attitude and apply TOGA thrust. The anti-tailstrike protection feature of the airplane flight control system, which limits commanded pitch rate after touchdown, deactivated as designed when TOGA power was selected. The FO likely did not detect the bounce at touchdown based on their full aft sidestick input during initiation of the go-around, leading to a large increase in airplane pitch angle before the airplane climbed, resulting in a tailstrike.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for DCA26LA115 for the full record.