NTSB probes rough landing at Charlotte Douglas
Federal investigators said Wednesday they had opened an inquiry into an accident Saturday night at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
An Airbus A321 operated by American Airlines on a flight from Atlanta encountered wind shear during its final approach to Charlotte, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
As the jetliner came in to land, the belly of the craft scraped against runway approach lights, then the tail hit the runway at 6:34 p.m., the NTSB said.
In response, the pilots aborted the landing, took off again, got back in the landing pattern and then landed safely, the agency said. No one was hurt but the jetliner was substantially damaged.
Wind shear is a weather phenomenon in which strong downdrafts can cause a rapid loss of altitude.
Afterward, the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were removed and sent to the NTSB laboratory in Washington where they are being downloaded and analyzed, the agency said.
Investigators will look into the weather conditions at the time, airplane performance and operational factors, the NTSB said.
Mark Washburn: 704-358-5007, @WashburnChObs
This story was originally published August 19, 2015 at 7:50 PM with the headline "NTSB probes rough landing at Charlotte Douglas."