First time I've ever seen reference to the 767 as being a difficult aircraft in these conditions.
Would be interested in anecdotal accounts of the 767 landing in turbulence!!
I've never thought of the '76 as a hard aircraft to land compared to other planes I've flown. With an aft CG the nose really wants to rise on touchdown and the pitch forces are light so it's easy to get the tail skid if you're not paying attention. And, with the 12 foot winglets sometimes a crosswind seems a little trickier than without. This Omni plane didn't have the winglets apparently. As with many large planes the 767 is hard to grease on at very light weights since 'the oleos aren't compressed'. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
Originally Posted by
Una Due Tfc
The Lufthansa hangars at the 24 end of the runway cause nasty WS when the wind is gusting from the west / north west. Last significant victim was an Aer Arann ATR with a nose gear collapse. These Omni guys ain't the first and won't be the last.
Those hidden horizontal vortices generated down low by nearby airfoil shaped hangars and terminal buildings are a very real hazard in my experience. At places like KIX and HKG I've been known to congratulate myself on a perfect crosswind alignment as the RA calls 'Fifty' only to be embarrassed 10 feet lower as all hell breaks loose and I fight the swirl down to the runway. Also, some runways like those at NRT will be surrounded by wooded areas. The steady wind will suddenly drop off as you hit the shear area below the treetop level. That may have been a factor in the fatal FedEx MD-11 crash at NRT in 2009.
Obviously, if you have a significant bounce in any large plane the thing to do is go around. In this case perhaps there was a bounce and on the second touchdown there was perceived urgency to lower the nosewheel resulting in a derotation mishap.
Both 757's and 767's seem to have a significant number of these incidents for some reason. The 767 is light in pitch on touchdown, I'd say the 757 heavy in pitch as you derotate. Or, is it the other way around, I never could remember...
Here's a Boeing article on derotation mishaps:
Aero 18 - Hard Nosegear Touchdowns