Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) has officially opened an investigation into an August 2023 incident involving a Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737-800 that resulted in a tailstrike.
On August 7, 2023, the Boeing 737-800 with registration PK-GNM was operating domestic flight GA 532 from Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (JKT) to Banjamarsin’s Syamsudin Noor International Airport (BDJ) with 145 passengers and seven crew.
According to the Aviation Herald the flight crew performed an Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) approach to Banjarmasin airport’s runway.
The pilots then noticed that the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System alerts were sounding faster than normal and, according to the report, “assisted holding the yoke back with the left hand and the right hand on the thrust levers”.
The aircraft then “bounced with a high pitch” as it touched down, and the flight crew called for a go-around.
As the aircraft rotated to perform the go-around, a tailstrike occurred and, according to NTSC reports, air traffic controllers at BDJ airport saw “sparks on the runway” and called for an inspection after the aircraft took off.
The aircraft then commenced a second approach for a landing without further incident. There were no reported injuries.
On November 2, 2023, the National Transportation Safety Committee released its preliminary report, stating that the aircraft sustained substantial damage including structural damage by deformed stringers, clips and frame.
The incident was rated an accident and is currently being investigated.
