Incident Overview

Description
Transavia France flight TO3943, a Boeing 737-800, sustained substantial damage in a hard landing accident on runway 21 at Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE/LFRS), France. Photos show that the nose tyres were damaged causing the aircraft to roll out on the nose wheel rims. Structural damage was noted. Contributing factors that may have contributed to the hard landing include: – Inappropriate actions by the co-pilot to increase pitch and reduce thrust during the flare maneuver; – The workload induced by an early disconnection of the automations under deteriorated weather conditions and at an airport with an off-axis approach, leading to a late alignment on the final approach at an altitude below 1,000 ft and close to minimums; – The absence of a framework or decision-making aid for instructors to help them assess the match between the difficulty of a flight and the level of the trainee co-pilot who will perform it as PF; – A lack of consideration by the operator, at the time of the accident, of the particularities of some aerodromes in the planning of co-pilot flights in Line Training; – Insufficient consideration by the operator and instructor of the fragmented training of the co-pilot and his recent experience in Line Training; – Insufficient consideration by the instructor of the difficulty that the co-pilot might have in executing the approach to runway 21 under the conditions of the day; – An approach briefing that identified threats, but did not discuss means to mitigate their effects; – A mistaken perception of the final part of the descent plan due to the upward slope of the runway; – The instructor’s lack of anticipation in taking control during a dynamic phase of flight. Factors that may have exacerbated the damage after the hard landing: – Excessive and disproportionate awareness of the risk of tail strike among Transavia pilots, compared to the risk of a hard landing; – Insufficient training on actions to take in case of a bounce, which led the instructor to reflexively apply the actions planned to avoid a tail strike without verbalizing the takeover of the controls. The lack of feedback from airline operators regarding the use of the runway did not allow for an update of the airport operator’s safety study related to runway longitudinal slopes, changes in longitudinal slopes, radii of curvature, and visibility distance.
Source of Information
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/f-gzha, https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/pays-de-la-loire/loire-atlantique/nantes/un-avion-rate-son-atterrissage-le-trafic-de-l-aeroport-de-nantes-interrompu-pendant-3-heures-2626216.htmlhttps://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/f-gzha, https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/pays-de-la-loire/loire-atlantique/nantes/un-avion-rate-son-atterrissage-le-trafic-de-l-aeroport-de-nantes-interrompu-pendant-3-heures-2626216.htmlPrimary Cause
Inappropriate co-pilot actions, including increased pitch and reduced thrust during the flare maneuver, combined with a high workload and an inadequate approach briefing, likely initiated the hard landing.Inappropriate co-pilot actions, including increased pitch and reduced thrust during the flare maneuver, combined with a high workload and an inadequate approach briefing, likely initiated the hard landing.Share on: