This is what airline pilots USED to know.

[litlbilly]

93. sorry some of my details were wrong, it was in 72 so i forgot a few things, here it is

Accident description

Last updated: 30 October 2013




Status: Final
Date: Saturday 23 June 1973
Time: 03:58 EDT
Type: McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61CF
Operator: Loftleidir
Registration: N8960T
C/n / msn: 45938/331
First flight: 1968
Total airframe hrs: 21258
Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 9
Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 119
Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 128
Airplane damage: Unknown
Location: New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY (JFK) (United States of America) show on map
Phase: Landing (LDG)
Nature: International Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport: Reykjavík-Keflavík International Airport (KEF/BIKF), Iceland
Destination airport: New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY (JFK/KJFK), United States of America
Narrative:
Loftleidir Flight 509 originated in Stockholm and was destined for New York with intermediate stops in Oslo and Reykjavik. The flight departed Keflavik Airport at 22:14 EDT. The flight from Keflavik to the outer marker of the ILS for runway 31R at New York-JFK was routine. At 03:56 Flight 509 contacted the tower and was cleared to land on runway 31R; the wind was 200deg at 3 knots. The captain decided to arm the spoilers just before touchdown rather than just after the landing gear had been extended. The latter is called for in the before-landing checklist. Shortly after the call to arm the spoilers, the aircraft struck the runway, tail first, and in a nose-high attitude. Later, the captain stated that he had called for the spoilers to be armed at an altitude between 20 and 30 feet. After impact, all engines were shut down by means of fire shutoff levers; fire extinguishers were discharged.
The first officer stated that because he could not arm the spoilers with his left hand, he had to use both hands. He also stated that he might have pulled back on the activating lever which deployed the spoilers.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The first officer's inadvertent deployment of the ground spoilers in flight while he was attempting to arm the spoiler system. The captain's decision to delay arming of the spoilers until just before touchdown was a contributing factor, because the timing varied from normal procedures and required the crewmembers to act quickly, without time for corrective action."
Sources:
» NTSB-AAR-73-20