A B727 first officer scraped the tail during a hard landing at atl.

Attributes
ACN	512760
Time
Date	200105
Day	Wed
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : atl.airport
State Reference	GA
Altitude	agl single value : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	artcc : lfff.artcc
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	B727-200
Flight Phase	landing : roll
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : atp
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 100 flight time total : 7500 flight time type : 230
ASRS Report	512760
Events
Anomaly	ground encounters other non adherence : published procedure other anomaly other anomaly
Resolutory Action	flight crew : regained aircraft control
Consequence	other other
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Flight Crew Human Performance
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance

Narrative:

On 2 mi final, airspeed slowly decreased to reference +5 KTS. I added power to stabilize at reference +5 KTS, but by this time we were on short final. Because of my fixation on the airspeed, I flared late, and we bounced pretty hard. I reset the landing attitude, but failed to add power. The next touchdown was surprisingly smooth, but quite nose high. After landing, aft flight attendant reported scraping sound during landing. Visual inspection showed scrape marks on bottom of tailskid, but no tail strut compression. Maintenance found no damage and aircraft returned to service. A more aggressive power addition would have stabilized airspeed sooner, leaving me more time to devote to other aspects of landing. The approach was well within company tolerance for a stabilized approach.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B727 FO SCRAPED THE TAIL DURING A HARD LNDG AT ATL.

Narrative: ON 2 MI FINAL, AIRSPD SLOWLY DECREASED TO REF +5 KTS. I ADDED PWR TO STABILIZE AT REF +5 KTS, BUT BY THIS TIME WE WERE ON SHORT FINAL. BECAUSE OF MY FIXATION ON THE AIRSPD, I FLARED LATE, AND WE BOUNCED PRETTY HARD. I RESET THE LNDG ATTITUDE, BUT FAILED TO ADD PWR. THE NEXT TOUCHDOWN WAS SURPRISINGLY SMOOTH, BUT QUITE NOSE HIGH. AFTER LNDG, AFT FLT ATTENDANT RPTED SCRAPING SOUND DURING LNDG. VISUAL INSPECTION SHOWED SCRAPE MARKS ON BOTTOM OF TAILSKID, BUT NO TAIL STRUT COMPRESSION. MAINT FOUND NO DAMAGE AND ACFT RETURNED TO SVC. A MORE AGGRESSIVE PWR ADDITION WOULD HAVE STABILIZED AIRSPD SOONER, LEAVING ME MORE TIME TO DEVOTE TO OTHER ASPECTS OF LNDG. THE APCH WAS WELL WITHIN COMPANY TOLERANCE FOR A STABILIZED APCH.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.