Originally Posted by
Loose rivets
The wheels being down for a first touch? I doubt that. The potential and kinetic energies were so great that the first tug on the stick would have seen them climbing sharply. Also the time to 4,500' feet down the runway from at least 1,500' would not have seen the gear stowed and doors safely back up.
A question for the experts please. Assuming the first touch was gear up and given the known high energy, what set of circumstances could lead to the subsequent 2 further touches? It looks like there was no tail strike or nose strike so that's three just on the engine cowls. I've read on here that if they initiated the GA on the first touch then the 2nd two would not have happened. So did they "bounce" along the runway losing energy before initiating the GA after the third touch? Is there any way that conflicting actions by the Captain and FO could explain the three touches?