Date:	Friday 23 June 2017
Time:	13:38
Type:	Airbus A321-211 (WL)
Owner/operator:	Delta Air Lines
Registration:	N315DN
MSN:	7436
Year of manufacture:	2016
Total airframe hrs:	1458 hours
Engine model:	CFMI CFM56-5B3/3
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 199
Aircraft damage:	Substantial, repaired
Category:	Accident
Location:	Atlanta-William B. Hartsfield International Airport, GA (ATL) -   United States of America
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:	Boston-Logan International Airport, MA (BOS/KBOS)
Destination airport:	Atlanta-William B. Hartsfield International Airport, GA (ATL/KATL)
Investigating agency:	NTSB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
Delta Airlines flight 800 from Boston-Logan International Airport, sustained substantial damage in a tail strike during landing at Atlanta-William B. Hartsfield International Airport.
The accident happened during landing on runway 26R. The aircraft taxied to the gate normally.

The first officer was on her third day of initial operating experience training and was the pilot flying for the flight; the captain, a check airman, was the pilot monitoring. The first officer reported that this was her fourth landing in an A320-series airplane and her first landing in an A321 model. According to the captain and first officer, the flight was cleared for the visual approach, the approach was stable, and wind was out of the southwest at 12 kts with gusts up to 20 kts. The first officer recalled that the captain instructed her to "pull back pull back" before touchdown. Both pilots reported that the landing was "firm." The first officer stated that after landing, the captain provided feedback that she flared a little low (near 20 ft above ground level [agl] instead of 30 ft agl) and did not provide enough pitch back on the side stick. Both crewmembers reported that the first officer was late to flare on previous landings.
A company pilot who was seated in the cockpit jumpseat reported the captain was providing instruction to the first officer during the flight about the nuances of the A321. He stated that the descent and arrival were uneventful up until the flare and that the first officer "never really performed any type of flare maneuver even as the captain repeatedly called for the F/O to perform one."
Subsequent preflight inspection of the airplane by the next flight crew revealed an area of abrasion damage to the aft fuselage about 13 ft long by 2 ft wide affecting two skin panels. The fuselage skin was abraded through in several areas with damage to the underlying stringers and frames. Several frames, stringers, and shear clips were also bent and/or fractured.

Probable Cause: The first officer's improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard, bounced landing, and the flight crew’s improper bounced landing recovery procedures.

16:52 UTC / 12:52 local time:
KATL 231652Z 24011G21KT 10SM SCT035 SCT100 BKN150 BKN250 29/21 A3001 RMK AO2 SLP150 T02940211

17:52 UTC / 13:52 local time:
KATL 231752Z 19019G24KT 10SM FEW040 SCT090 BKN250 29/21 A2999 RMK AO2 SLP143 T02940206 10300 20233 58014

NTSB
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