Originally Posted by Re-entry
Was box office witness to A340 bounce today. After said gravitational challenge event, it pitched down violently to the point it was going to become a wheelbarrow , whereupon it pitched up again and landed. I wonder how much pitch action was pilot induced, how much 'what's it doing now?'.
The bogey main wheels on the A330/ A340 hang trailing wheels first. If you try to land smoothly on the rear mains and then hold off the front mains will come down heavily. Therefore the best technique for a smooth landing on these machines is to do what the auto pilot does and that is to touch down on the rear mains then pitch down quite quickly to bring the front mains on to the ground smoothly while you still have some speed, without smacking the nose gear down. Then smoothly touch the nose gear down.
Maybe this pilot tried that but overcooked the pitch down?