From Olasek...
"I found discussion on another forum in relation to this accident that allegedly Southwest ask their pilots to do firm landings (hard landings?). I am not going to repeat the whole line of argument how this claim might relate to this accident but I would like to verify if there is any truth in it in case there are some SWA pilots around here."
Having flown the 737 since 1990 and for nearly 10 years now at Southwest, I can assure you that I have never seen or heard of any recommendation to perform a "firm" or "hard" landing. What is in our Flight Operation Manual is common language regarding putting the aircraft in the touchdown zone and words to the effect of "do not hold the aircraft off the runway in an attempt to make a smooth landing." I think we can pretty much rule out hard landings as the cause of the skin tear.