MD-11 Standard Operating Procedures

Air Safety Week, Feb 14, 2005

Under 'Landing Techniques,' the MD-11 SOP states:

"The recommended landing procedure for the MD-11 calls for reducing the sink rate at approximately 30 feet radio altitude. Only a 2 degrees attitude change is required to reduce (but not stop) the rate of descent. As this attitude is being held, power should be slowly reduced."

Source: MD-11 Standard Operating Procedures, Part 1, p. 117

On Flight 642's actual approach, the attempt to flare the aircraft after it passed 50 feet radio altitude (RA), with thrust levers already retarded and descending increasingly below the GP [glide path] from its previous one dot low perspective, was not effective. This involved an initial up elevator input of 12[degrees] at about 45 feet RA, immediately followed by a reversal to 8.5[degrees] down, which only succeeded in achieving a momentary increase in pitch attitude from about 3.5[degrees] ANU [aircraft nose up] to 4.2[degrees], then returning to 3.2[degrees]. As the aircraft passed 21 feet RA, up elevator was again applied, reaching almost 16[degrees] immediately before touchdown. While this did increase the pitch attitude to 4.5[degrees] ANU, it did not succeed in reducing the high rate of descent, which was calculated to be approximately 18 feet per second at the RMLG [right side landing gear] as it impacted the runway. This continuing high rate of descent is evident from playback of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) tape recording, which does not indicate any slowing in the cadence of the CAWS [caution aural warning system] readouts of '50/40/30/20/10' as would normally occur in the flare.

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