Some time ago I heard about an MD-11 porpoising accident, probably the same Narita accident, what I recall fits the description.
The word in my little flight test community was that the MD-11 had a tendency to porpoise. Check the video of an MU-2 bouncing around, porpoising is a good word for that. Seems to me once the porpoising starts the plane will bleed off energy pretty quickly. If you don't hit the throttles hard & fast, you're just along for the ride. I just wrapped up a 4-day meeting on a project, just happened to have an engineering test pilot in the group, he's a FedEx pilot in his spare time. He confirmed the MD-11 tendency to porpoise. The UPS crash was anything but that... https://share.google/lVtLpLOGN0wdwkB7n Mike Borfitz Cell 206-714-8797 Kilroy Aviation LLC WWW.FAAODA.COM <http://www.faaoda.com/> Kilroy is available for aviation regulatory and safety issues - Type & Production Certification, Continued Operational Safety - International validation & safety matters - Program & system management - FAA STC ODA On Mon, Dec 8, 2025, 5:24 PM Jack Keady via Mifnet <[email protected]> wrote: > keady - posting just to illustrate MD 11 /handling difficulties > otspots <https://theaviationist.com/category/troubled-areas/> > > - Explore > <https://theaviationist.com/2009/03/23/fedex-md11-crashes-in-narita/#> > - <https://theaviationist.com/about/> > - <https://theaviationist.com/work-with-us/> > - <https://theaviationist.com/contact/> > - Advertise with us <https://theaviationist.com/advertise-with-us/> > - Subscribe to Newsletters > <https://theaviationist.com/subscribe-to-our-newsletter/> > > <https://theaviationist.com/2009/03/23/fedex-md11-crashes-in-narita/#> > Home <https://theaviationist.com/> > Aviation Safety > <https://theaviationist.com/category/aviation-safety/> > FedEx MD11 > crashes in Narita > Aviation Safety <https://theaviationist.com/category/aviation-safety/> > FedEx MD11 crashes in Narita > Published on: March 23, 2009 at 7:01 PM[image: Google News Icon]Follow Us > On Google News > <https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqLggKIihDQklTR0FnTWFoUUtFblJvWldGMmFXRjBhVzl1YVhOMExtTnZiU2dBUAE?hl=en-IN&gl=IN&ceid=IN%3Aen> > [image: David Cenciotti] David Cenciotti > <https://theaviationist.com/author/cencio4/> > SHARE > > <https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftheaviationist.com%2F2009%2F03%2F23%2Ffedex-md11-crashes-in-narita%2F> > <https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=FedEx+MD11+crashes+in+Narita&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheaviationist.com%2F2009%2F03%2F23%2Ffedex-md11-crashes-in-narita%2F&via=The+Aviationist> > <https://theaviationist.com/2009/03/23/fedex-md11-crashes-in-narita/#> > <https://theaviationist.com/2009/03/23/fedex-md11-crashes-in-narita/#> > > On Mar. 23, a FedEx MD-11F with registration N526FE crashed during landing > on the runway 34L/16R in Narita International, Tokyo, at 06.50 AM LT. > Unfortunately both pilots died in the catastrophic crash. The aircraft was > flying as FDX80 from Guangzhou – Bayiun, China, to Memphis, USA, via Narita > and Anchorage, when around 21.50 Zulu (Sunday Mar. 22) the aircraft had a > couple of bounces on landing prior to roll to the left and explode fuselage > upside down. At the time of the crash, the airport was under strong winds: > 222130Z 32026G40KT 9999 FEW020 12/M02 Q0999 WS R34L NOSIG RMK 1CU020 A2952 > P/RR. > The video of the crash was immediately released: > > [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPrOlZtxaVw] > > [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAg_qKYVb6g] > > The footage shows the aircraft bouncing hard on the runway after a flare > (maybe with a high sink rate and not enough flare), ascending to something > around 50 feet, then pitching down towards the tarmac, rolling slightly to > the left. On the second touchdown the left Main Landing Gear collapses. As > a consequence, the left wing goes into the ground and drags while the other > wing raises into the air still producing lift. The reason for the pitch > down attitude immediately after the first bounce is subject to > speculations: someone thinks the pilot overcorrected to get the plane back > down on the runway, others hypothesized the first bounce could have caused > some problem with the flight control/surfaces. > This accident, reminded me of a previous FedEx MD-11 that crashed in > Newark in 1997. Here’s the abstract of the NTSB report (available in pdf > format here: http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/2000/AAR0002.pdf > <https://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/2000/AAR0002.pdf>): > > Abstract: On July 31, 1997, about 0132 eastern daylight time, a McDonnell > Douglas MD-11, N611FE, operated by Federal Express, Inc., (FedEx) as flight > 14, crashed while landing on runway 22R at Newark International Airport, > Newark, New Jersey (EWR). The regularly scheduled cargo flight originated > in Singapore on July 30 with intermediate stops in Penang, Malaysia; > Taipei, Taiwan; and Anchorage, Alaska. The flight from Anchorage > International Airport to EWR was conducted on an instrument flight rules > flight plan and operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal > Regulations Part 121. On board were the captain and first officer, who had > taken over the flight in Anchorage for the final leg to EWR, one jumpseat > passenger, and two cabin passengers. All five occupants received minor > injuries in the crash and during subsequent egress through a cockpit > window. The airplane was destroyed by impact and a postcrash fire. > > The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable > cause of this accident was the captain’s overcontrol of the airplane during > the landing and his failure to execute a go-around from a destabilized > flare. Contributing to the accident was the captain’s concern with touching > down early to ensure adequate stopping distance. > > Safety issues discussed in this report focus on landing techniques, > bounced landing recovery, and training tools and policies that promote > proactive decision-making to go around if an approach is unstabilized. > Safety issues also include the use of on board computers to determine the > required runway length for landing, MD-11 handling characteristics and > structural integrity requirements, and hard landing inspection > requirements. Tracking hazardous materials continues to be a safety issue > and is also discussed in the report. > > Look at the following youtube video showing another FedEx MD-11 (N587FE) > landing on Feb 14 2009, on the same airport (Narita) with strong crosswinds. > > [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWZzxqQMoro&NR=1] > > I’ve already discussed about crosswinds landing risks and techniques when > analysing the Lufthansa A320 LH044 wingstrike in Hamburg: > http://cencio4.wordpress.com/2008/03/04/lufthansa-a320-wingstrike-at-hamburg/ > TAGGED:A320 <https://theaviationist.com/tag/a320/>Aviation Safety > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/aviation-safety/>crab > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/crab/>cross-controls > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/cross-controls/>crosswind > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/crosswind/>crosswind landing > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/crosswind-landing/>decrab > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/decrab/>FedEx > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/fedex/>FedEx crash > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/fedex-crash/>flare > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/flare/>Hamburg > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/hamburg/>Hamburg wingstrike > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/hamburg-wingstrike/>hard landing > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/hard-landing/>ILS > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/ils/>LH044 > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/lh044/>Lufthansa > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/lufthansa/>MD-11 > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/md-11/>MD-11 crash > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/md-11-crash/>MD-11 crash Newark > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/md-11-crash-newark/>MD-11F > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/md-11f/>METAR > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/metar/>N526FE > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/n526fe/>N587FE > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/n587fe/>Narita crash > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/narita-crash/>NTSB > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/ntsb/>unstable flare > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/unstable-flare/>WCA > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/wca/>Wind Correction Angle > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/wind-correction-angle/>wingstrike > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/wingstrike/>xwind > <https://theaviationist.com/tag/xwind/> > Share This Article > [image: Google News Icon]Follow Us > <https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqLggKIihDQklTR0FnTWFoUUtFblJvWldGMmFXRjBhVzl1YVhOMExtTnZiU2dBUAE?hl=en-IN&gl=IN&ceid=IN%3Aen> > Facebook > <https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftheaviationist.com%2F2009%2F03%2F23%2Ffedex-md11-crashes-in-narita%2F> > <https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=FedEx+MD11+crashes+in+Narita&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheaviationist.com%2F2009%2F03%2F23%2Ffedex-md11-crashes-in-narita%2F&via=The+Aviationist> > <https://theaviationist.com/2009/03/23/fedex-md11-crashes-in-narita/#> > <https://theaviationist.com/2009/03/23/fedex-md11-crashes-in-narita/#> > <https://theaviationist.com/author/cencio4/> > By David Cenciotti <https://theaviationist.com/author/cencio4/> > Follow: <https://theaviationist.com/> > <https://www.facebook.com/david.cenciotti> > <https://www.instagram.com/theaviationist/> > <https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-cenciotti/> > David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder > and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read > military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide > magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, > covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and > cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and > flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd > Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer > Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones. > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Revised: 20250507 > > You are receiving The Mifnet because you requested to join this list. > > The Mifnet is largely a labor of love, however the infrastructure isn't > exactly cost-free. 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