Hard Landing Caused $21 Million in Damage to Ramstein Cargo Plane, Air Force Finds
17 Feb 2021
Stars and Stripes | By Jennifer H. Svan
Pilot error caused $21 million in damage to an Air Force cargo plane that landed hard during a training flight at Ramstein Air Base in April, the service said following the release of an accident investigation board's findings.
The C-130J Super Hercules pilot reduced power to the engines 70 feet above the ground and fully idled them at 45 feet, an Air Force statement said Tuesday. That caused the plane to drop down onto the runway too quickly, the statement said.
The pilot, who was simulating a landing on a dirt airstrip, known as a maximum effort landing, should have started to pull the power at about 20 feet in order to land "in the center of the runway touchdown zone," the report said.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/02/17/hard-landing-caused-21-million-damage-ramstein-cargo-plane-air-force-finds.html
