On another aviation BB, I read the following post from a retired AA CA:"According to....the Allied Pilots Union discussion board; they were at or near max landing wt. The guys who fly the 737 into that airport say that they always tanker maximum fuel inbound as it is more expensive at that location.
"Also...the pilots who fly that model of the 737 say that it is a very squirrely airplane on wet runways. The airplane has been stretched significantly from it's orginal configuration....yet the landing gear and fuselage remain in the same close proximity to the surface. Because of the lengthened fuselage, normal approach speed and pitch attitude for the earlier versions would result in a tail strike nearly every time.
"Therefore Boeing added 11 kts to the standard approach speed in order to keep the nose pitch attitude lower and prevent a tail strike. Simply stated....this model approaches faster, flatter and touches down faster to compensate for a poor design. Also they say that rudder control is more limited after landing...much as the MD-80 rudder control was when compared with shorter versions of the DC-9."
He was not voicing any opinions about the accident, just responding to some questions about the factors involved.