This is only my personal opinion, but-
- I think it was a good crew in NRT.
- I think they were very very tired.
- The first bounce was very survivable, 1.7 g or something like that.
- I think the pilot flying thought he was on the ground and wanted to get the nose down, when in fact he was in mid-bounce. Too late he realized his error.
- Training since then has focused more on basic skills, no doubt about that. FX has developed a bounce recovery curriculum that is becoming the industry standard. Some of the simulator exercises are interesting - we turn off the auto-spoilers, make a VFR approach and then attempt to make multiple touch-and-goes by slightly adding power after touchdown. I could make four in one pass - the record is eleven. All to teach finesse and stability in the flare.
In reading this report I noted the autopilot was on till 2 or 3 hundred feet. I have found over the years in many different a/c that hand flying from say 1000 ft gives me better performance and results.
My philosophy exactly. If you're going to play piano or guitar, you want to warm up a little first. I cannot comprehend why pilots want to grab the controls at 200 feet.