Originally Posted by FDR
The VS of the HKG MD11 was 1650FPM (IIFC) which is not far out from the third touchdown of this event...
Just for comparison, 1650 F/min = 27.5 F/sec which is higher than the advertised breaking sink rate for aircraft like the Navy F-4 which was around 24 F/sec.
The problem does not seem to be the landing gear strength, but the fact that the MD-11 can have an out of control arrival. This whole bit about having to come in with strong nose down inputs in some landing situations is the core problem. Get your timing off and you can be in a world of hurt.
Having the spoilers pitch your nose up when you should be de-rotating has to be a big part of the handling problem, which was the reason I mentioned the B748 problem and solution earlier. I'm surprised the FAA certified it like that. The aircraft should de-rotate in a more normal fashion.