Incident of “hard landing” occurred in Joy Air flight, the flight first touched the runway and experienced severe bouncing, then hit the ground a second time 2 seconds later. Passengers described feeling a clear sense of weightlessness, hearing strong impact noises, and feeling turbulence in the cabin. Due to spreading panic, screams could be heard inside the cabin.
In recent days, several netizens have posted about an incident on April 9th involving Joy Air flight HO1249 from Shanghai to Chongqing, where a hard landing and bouncing incident occurred at Chongqing Jiangbei Airport.
One netizen shared their experience on a social media platform, mentioning that there was a violent impact noise upon landing, noticeable cabin shaking, and they felt pain in their buttocks and heels. Headphones fell off, and some passengers were frightened.
Information circulated online shows that on April 9th, Joy Air flight HO1249 experienced a maximum vertical load of 3.06G during the first touchdown, and 2.12G during the second touchdown after the aircraft bounced.
A current pilot mentioned to mainland media that the reasons for a hard landing could be due to improper operation or sudden weather conditions like wind shear. Normally, landing G values are between 1.1 to 1.6. If the reported maximum vertical load of 3.06G is accurate, detailed aircraft maintenance checks are needed as it could lead to aircraft retirement. Additionally, the bouncing after the hard landing may increase the probability of structural damage.
According to Shenzhen News Network, data from FlightRadar24 app showed that on April 9th, Joy Air flight HO1249 was operated by an Airbus A321-231 with 8.5 years of service and registered as B1006, then the subsequent flight HO1250, for the same day, was canceled. On April 10th, the aircraft model for flight HO1249 was changed to an Airbus A320-271N registered as B323R, with an aircraft age of 4.9 years.
Reporting from Far Sight News, a passenger contacted on April 13th who was on the mentioned flight described the aircraft bouncing upon touchdown, feeling a sudden heaviness upon landing, then weightlessness as the plane bounced and landed again. They reported, “There was a very violent impact noise during landing, and the cabin shaking was significant. The first touchdown and bounce lasted about 2 seconds. I thought we would take off again, but we hit the ground hard once more.”
The mentioned passenger also noted that due to the intense shaking, some passengers screamed.
According to industry experts, a hard landing is defined as an event where the vertical load (overload) upon landing significantly exceeds the normal landing range, causing impacts on critical parts of the aircraft structure, such as the fuselage and landing gear.
On April 13th, Far Sight News reached out to Joy Air for details regarding the hard landing of flight HO1249 but received no response.
On the 14th, officials from the Civil Aviation Administration of Southwest China stated that the matter is currently under investigation and declined interviews at the moment.