Large Transport; Low Wing; 2 Turbojet Eng
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Ground Event / Encounter Ground Strike - Aircraft; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
General Maintenance Action
Human Factors; Weather
The FO was the flying pilot and I was pilot monitoring. Descent into MTPP was normal on the arrival for the RNAV approach. We briefed the approach and noted good weather conditions at MTPP. The approach was stable and on speed and the aircraft was fully configured at approximately 1400 feet MSL. There was only minor turbulence and shear typical of MTPP during periods east-southeast winds. The roundout and flare were at the proper height and on speed.At approximately 30 feet the aircraft experienced a strong downdraft and sank quickly despite the FO's attempts to arrest the descent. The aircraft touched down firmly; but not hard and bounced. I brought my hand from behind the throttles to block them from coming back or adding too much power and put my hand on the yoke to prevent any inadvertent additional pull by the FO (he did not pull back on the yoke). We touched down firmly and not excessively nose-high. In my judgment there was neither the time or the energy for a go-around; the event occurred incredibly quickly and we had little to no time to react. I brought the aircraft to taxi speed. We cleared the runway and taxied to the gate. Upon visual inspection it became obvious that a tail strike had occurred. We informed maintenance control and I made the relevant logbook entry.I believe the event occurred due to a strong and unexpected downdraft very close to the ground in the landing flare combined with the accompanying loss of energy and performance. Recommend possibly a change in procedure to carry extra airspeed at this particular airport on this particular runway as long as landing performance allows. Continued vigilance on wind shear close to the ground and/or tail strike avoidance.
Air carrier Captain reported a tail strike due to a strong downdraft during landing.