Boeing 757-232 N698DL

Summary

On 8 March 2013 at about 00:21 local time, a Boeing 757-232 registered N698DL, operated by Delta Air Lines Inc, was involved in an accident near Atlanta, Georgia, United States. 148 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 March 2013 at 00:21

Classification

Accident

Location

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Hartsfield/Jackson (KATL)

Coordinates

33.6367, -84.4278

Aircraft

Boeing 757-232

Registration

N698DL

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Delta Air Lines Inc

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Ana → Atlanta

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

DCA13CA065

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's failure to maintain correct airspeed and pitch attitude at touchdown.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On March 7, 2013, at 19:21 Eastern Standard Time, a Boeing 757-200, registration N698DL, operated by Delta Air Lines as flight 1693 from Orange County Airport, Santa Ana, California (KSNA) to the Hartsfield Jackson International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia (KATL), experienced a tailstrike while landing on runway 28. The aircraft was substantially damaged, and there were no injuries to the 2 flight crew, 4 flight attendants, or 142 passengers. Weather at the time of the event was reported as winds from 340 degrees at 6 knots, clear skies and 10 miles visibility. According to the flight crew, the preflight, departure and enroute segments of the flight were normal. The approach was flown with a Vref speed of 129 knots and 25 degrees of flap. Upon landing, the first officer called "speedbrakes not activated" and manually deployed the speedbrakes. The captain reported he felt the airplane "float" and attempted to maintain landing attitude. FDR data indicated that the airplane made an initial touchdown, followed by a brief gear squat switch deactivation, consistent with a slight bounce or light touchdown; the speedbrakes were then manually deployed. Airspeed decayed to approximately 115 knots and pitch attitude increased to about 11 degrees. The Delta 757/767 Flight Crew Training Manual specifies that contact with the runway is possible with pitch attitude greater than 10.5 degrees, with flaps 25 and airspeed of 10 knots below Vref. The airplane rolled out and taxied to the gate uneventfully. While preparing the aircraft for the next flight the flight crew was informed by maintenance personnel of damage to the tail section of the aircraft. Aircraft inspection revealed an 8 foot scrape on the lower aft fuselage, damage to several stringers and buckling of the aft pressurization dome.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.