A321 Bounce, Pitch-up, Tailstrike: Training Flight at LaGuardia

On 14 July 2026, Delta Air Lines flight 1181, an Airbus A321 (N382DN) from Fort Lauderdale, struck its tail landing on runway 22 at LaGuardia. The lower fuselage was substantially damaged. None of the 194 people aboard was hurt.

The first officer (FO) was on operating experience with a line check captain. The FO had 19 hours on type and this was his third leg as pilot flying. The captain asked him to hand-fly the arrival, so the autopilot came off around 18,000 ft and autothrust around 10,000 ft. Weather was good: day VMC, wind 220° at 14 kt, straight down the runway.

On short final, airspeed fell below target. The FO’s first thrust correction was too small, with more added only after the captain called the deviation. A slightly late flare gave a firm touchdown at about 7° pitch and 1.91 g, and the aircraft bounced.

The FO then pulled excessively aft on the sidestick and the aircraft touched down again. Pitch reached 10.02° before the captain’s go-around inputs appear in the data.

The captain lowered the nose and went around, then handed control back. The FO landed uneventfully on the second approach. Flight attendants reported a loud scraping noise.

The operator’s bounced-landing procedure is clear. For a high, hard bounce, initiate a go-around with TOGA thrust and “do not allow the pitch attitude to increase”. The NTSB found the tailstrike would likely have been avoided had the FO followed it, or had the check captain intervened sooner.

Probable cause: the first officer’s excessive aft sidestick input following a bounced landing, and the line check pilot’s delayed remedial action. No mechanical issue contributed.

Photo source: Pete Macklin, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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