The sad thing is there is no way an Airbus would have sheared off the nosegear and fallen apart like that.
WTF!! (All notions of self restraint thrown aside!!) Maybe (I hope) you havn't seen the embankment it collided with??
Maybe in the infamous LeBourget Airbus crash - the rest of the craft disentegrated, but the nose gear was still intact?
If there's no way the nose gear could shear of an Airbus try a search for the following:
March 10, 1997. A40-EM Airbus A320-212 Gulf Air
February 7, 2001. EC-HKJ Airbus A320-214 Iberia
October 26, 1999, VT-ESL Airbus A230-231 Indian Airlines
August 28, 2002. N635AW Airbus A320-231 America West
It's bizarre where the A vs. B thing pops up - i know which side I'm on - but usually try to refrain from joining in - appologies to those who it bugs.
Casper, I can only find one other event similar (runway excursion) to this one in
reasonable near history - maybe you could enlighten me to the considerable other events.
Where in your quote is flap asymmetry mentioned by the chief pilot? What about if they had selected the first stage of flap at say 10nm, it got stuck there, they upped the speed bugs for the reduced flap setting for landing and decided to continue, not knowing they were going to get hit with undershoot shear during the flare?
Capn Bloggs, I believe there is a report of early flap difficulties, but that it was resolved (again reportedly). I think the scenario you suggest is a pretty reasonable possibility - leading to the dilema - what inadequate level of flap (and consequent increased speed/landing distance) would be acceptable vs. a divert to a longer runway ...... IF fuel with decreased performance adequate. If you put yourself in that situation, at a certain level of flap - distance is limiting and you've got to make the call of risk balancing. It also links in with PK-KAR's suggested possibility:"If the "land long" was caused by a flap15 landing using a flap30 flare technique, well, that could explain a lot... but again, we have to wait and see."
Altogether, would not be a nice situation.