SINK RATE…SINK RATE….

[st27]

I have a few hours on the 37-200 (13 years worth) and operated into 5000’ strips routinely. I cannot imagine what this crew was doing to warrant this result, other than not bothering to flare and flying the aircraft into the runway:

Quote

DALLAS — A Southwest Airlines flight attendant suffered a compression fracture to a vertebra in her upper back during a hard landing last month in California, according to federal safety investigators.

The National Transportation Safety Board said the impact of landing was so hard that the flight attendant thought the plane had crashed. She felt pain in her back and neck and could not move, and was taken to a hospital where she was diagnosed with the fracture.

 

The safety board completed its investigation without saying what caused the hard landing.

 

The NTSB said none of the other 141 people on board the plane were injured in the incident at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California.

The pilots told investigators that they were aiming for the normal touchdown zone on the relatively short runway.

“However, it ended up being a firm landing,” the NTSB said in its final report, dated Friday.

A spokeswoman for the airline declined to provide further information when asked about the result of the internal investigation and whether the plane was inspected for evidence of damage that could occur during a hard landing. The plane has been making several flights a day, according to tracking services.

 

[boestar]

I hope the aircraft was removed from service.  An impact strong enough to fracture a spine is hard enough to damage the airframe

 

[Seeker]

I had a somewhat similar situation happen to me once.

Landed firmly on a relatively short runway with a gusty crosswind.  I say "firmly" but well within "normal" parameters.  Afterward a FA complained that she was injured due to the "hard landing."  I said, Well, it wasn't a hard landing - it was a normal landing.  Eventually she discloses that she was leaning forward and trying to reach a piece of paper that had fallen on the floor right at the moment of touchdown (rearward facing seat, body turned).

So, she writes an injury report saying; "Injured due to hard landing". and wants me to sign it.  I wrote in the section for Capt's comments; " FA injured due to sitting incorrectly in seat during normal landing."  "What? You contradicted me!"  she says.  "Yes, I did, have a nice day."

There's more detail to the story, I'm just giving the Coles notes version.  She was not injured.  Of course, if she was I would have taken responsibility, called for medical assistance, etc.

[Innuendo]

I seem to remember you could get the vertical speed on touchdown from a maintenance page in one of the MCDUs,

(on the A-340 at least), to get some idea of the landing.

I think that figure was one of the things looked at in an overweight landing check.

Guess you need to be in later aircraft, DC-9 and B-727 types not available. But they were built like the proverbial Tanks.

[conehead]

Certainly could have pulled the DFDR to get the G number at touchdown, as well as the Vertical Speed.

[J.O.]

7 hours ago, Rich Pulman said:

In the Airbus, no PFR = no heavy landing check required. In other words, it only told you when one was required.

An AOA probe that is failing has been known to cause false heavy landing reports. 

[JL]

...and the accelerometer for the DFDR is only measuring forces in one location on the aircraft.

[conehead]

Airbus this, Airbus that... I thought this conversation was about the incident at Southwest. So Boeing, yes? I still say reading the DFDR will reveal all the pertinent information required.