“Improper control column inputs” by a first officer caused a United Airlines Boeing 767-300 to slam onto a Houston runway with sufficient force to significantly damage its fuselage in 2023.
That is according to a 16 January final accident report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which notes that the newly hired first officer had struggled with some aspects of training.
The report also faults both the jet’s pilots for likely being unaware that the speed brakes were not armed during landing. That led to “delayed” speed brake deployment and exacerbated damage to the jet.
“Although the first officer stated he held aft pressure on the control column during the initial touchdown, flight data showed that he also made nose-down column inputs during the landing sequence,” says the report. “These nose-down inputs contributed to the nosewheel abnormally impacting the runway.”
“The first officer’s training records showed inconsistencies in airplane handling as recent as a few months before the accident,” it adds.
United does not respond to a request for comment.
The incident involved United flight 702 from Newark Liberty International airport to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental on 29 July 2023.
After an uneventful flight, the jet (registration N641UA) touched down on its main landing gear but with its speed brakes in the “unarmed” setting.
The first officer told investigators “he held aft pressure on the control yoke to keep the nosewheel from hitting the runway” during the landing.
Still, the wheel came down with “abnormal force” – 1.4G force equivalent – and the aircraft “bounced”, prompting the first officer to again pull the yoke to keep the nosewheel from slamming a second time.
The 767’s flight-data recorder showed that during landing the “control column inputs ranged from about 5° nose high to 5° nose low”.
“The first officer’s nose-down column inputs were contrary to United Airlines’ procedures and training,” the NTSB says.
After the first nose-wheel bounce, the first officer deployed the thrust reversers, which automatically activated the speed brakes. Then the nose wheel bounced again, hitting with 1.6G, before coming down a third and final time at 1.6G.
“The deployment of the speed brakes with the thrust reversers was while the nosewheel was still in the air,” says the report. “This likely contributed to the second abnormal runway contact of the nosewheel and the subsequent damage to the airplane.”
United hired the first officer in February 2023. He had logged 3,001 flight hours, including 129h in 767s, and received “an unsatisfactory performance rating due to deficiencies with take-offs and aircraft control” during an April 2023 check ride.
Following a second check ride, the first officer received a “satisfactory performance rating” but a “minimum grade in three areas, one of which was landings”, the NTSB says. A check pilot also described the first officer as having had “struggles”.
As a result, the first officer had received a “short-cycle” designation, which required that he complete another evaluation in 90 days rather than in the typical nine months.
