# NTSB DCA23LA232: Mcdonnell Douglas MD-88, N834US, Saltillo, Mexico, March 24, 2023 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: March 24, 2023, 17:15 local (17:15 UTC) - Place: Saltillo, Mexico - Coordinates: 25.549499, -100.929 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=25.5495&lon=-100.9290&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing: Tailstrike](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/091) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 3 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Major Investigations Division - Parties: FAA, usajet, Boeing Air Safety Investigations - NTSB case key (mKey): 107036 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DCA23LA232 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/107036/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=107036 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DCA23LA232 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to adequately compensate for a wind shift while on short final approach which resulted in a higher than normal sink rate and a tailstrike. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Environmental issues](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03010000): Environmental issues › Operating environment · Ability to respond/compensate; cases with it: [Mcdonnell Douglas MD-88, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03010000/cases.md?model=3023688), [All aircraft, 14 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03010000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing: Tailstrike](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/091) (defining event); cases with it: [Mcdonnell Douglas MD-88, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/091/sequence.md?model=3023688), [All aircraft, 124 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/091/sequence.md) ## Analysis USA Jet Airlines, flight JUS834, sustained a tailstrike while landing at the Saltillo/Plan De Guadalupe International Airport (SLW), Saltillo, Mexico. After the event, the airplane completed two additional flights before the damage was discovered by maintenance personnel. The flight was an on-demand international cargo flight from Willow Run Airport (YIP), Detroit, Michigan, to SLW. The flight crew stated that, upon arrival at SLW, they conducted an instrument landing system (ILS) approach to runway 17. A review of flight data recorder (FDR) data revealed that the autopilot and autothrottle were disconnected at about 1,400 ft above ground level (agl). The airplane was in a stabilized configuration on approach, with glideslope and localizer deviations of less than one dot. Airspeed varied by less than 5 knots and the sink rate was less than 1,000 feet per minute (fpm). The crew indicated that the flight was “slightly bumpy” on final approach with small fluctuations in airspeed. They stated that it felt as though the wind had shifted or dissipated rapidly while approaching 50 feet agl resulting in a higher-than-normal sink rate. FDR data showed that near 80 ft radio altitude (RA), the aircraft’s sink rate began to increase rapidly, indicating a sudden decrease in headwind. The control column was deflected airplane nose-up (ANU) in an apparent attempt to arrest the sink rate. FDR data showed that the control column remained deflected ANU until about 30 ft RA, when the airplane’s pitch increased to nearly 5 degrees ANU. Subsequently, an airplane nose-down (AND) column input was initiated. The airplane continued to descend at a sink rate of over 15 feet per second (fps) just before touchdown, resulting in a hard landing with a peak vertical acceleration of 3.24 gravitational force equivalent (g). The tail strike likely occurred at the touchdown point where the airplane's pitch attitude reached approximately 8 degrees, exceeding the attitude limit where the aft body of the aircraft would contact the ground I don’t see anything in the docket supporting this? Did this come from a manufacturer's manual we can add a page from? They have a graph or chart usually that has this info. once the landing gear was compressed. Based on this information, and a review of several takeoffs and landings led to the determination that the tailstrike occurred at SLW. The crew indicated that the aircraft touched down harder than normal, that the airplane did not bounce, and they did not feel as if a tail strike had occurred. During a post-flight inspection at SLW, the crew stated that they did not observe any damage to the fuselage and the tail skid assembly's tailstrike indicator was in a horizontal position (parallel to the fuselage), indicating a tail strike had not occurred, see figure 1. The trip continued from SLW to Windsor Airport (YQG), Windsor, Ontario Canada, and then to YIP. During a maintenance pre-flight inspection at YIP a day after the accident, externaldamage to the fuselage, missed during the flight crew’s walk-around in SLW, was discovered. Further inspection of the airplane revealed substantial damage to internal structural members of the lower fuselage. Indicator Figure 1. Photo of skid assembly on airplane with tailstrike indicator position shown. (Source: Boeing) The tail skid assembly was removed from the airplane and sent to the Boeing equipment quality analysis (EQA) laboratory for examination. No mechanical anomalies were found with the unit that would have affected the tail bumper strut from properly stroking and rebounding when pressurized and installed on the airplane. Although contamination, metallic and organic, larger than the design specification was found within the unit, it could not be determined how it affected the operation of the unit. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N834US](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N834US), registered now, S/N 53115, built 1990 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: MCDONNELL DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT CO MD-88 - Registry model: [Mcdonnell Douglas MD-88](https://openairdocs.org/model/mcdonnell-douglas-md-88) (registry code 3023688) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney JT8D series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-jt8d-series) (registry code 52053, turbo-jet) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 53115 - Year built: 1990 - Airframe hours: 75835 - Engines: P & W JT8D SERIES 7700 lbs thrust turbo jet; P & W JT8D SERIES 21700 lbs thrust turbo jet - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 121 - Operator: USA Jet Airlines Inc - Registered owner: USA Jet Airlines Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Transport - Last inspection: Unknown, March 21, 2023 - Departed: KYIP, Belleville, MI - Destination: Same as departure - Flight plan: IFR - Airport: MMIO, Saltillo/Plan de Guadalupe Intl General Airport, runway 17, 9,456 × 148 ft, asphalt - Equipment: Unknown ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 58; injuries: none; airline transport; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; last flight review January 14, 2023; seat: left; restraint: 5-point; flight hours: 13,580 total, 3,852 in this make and model, 11,535 as pilot in command, 183 in the last 90 days, 75 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours - Pilot; age 26; injuries: none; private, flight instructor, commercial, airline transport; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; seat: right; restraint: 5-point; flight hours: 1,528 total, 267 in this make and model, 1,080 as pilot in command, 84 in the last 90 days, 42 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 180° at 10 knots - Observed at: MMIO ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20230324009019A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230324009019A), Mar 24, 2023: Mcdonnell Douglas Aircraft Co MD-88, Saltillo, Substantial damage. The [privacy data omitted] Mcdonnell Douglas MD-88 (sf), performing flight[privacy data omitted], sustained substantial damage when it landed hard during night… ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 18, 2024, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=107036. 2.0 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 11 pages, 2.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16783539&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=6120_Redacted-Rel.pdf From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.