Airbus 318/319/320/321 Undifferentiated
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Communication Breakdown; Distraction; Situational Awareness; Time Pressure; Training / Qualification
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Inflight Event / Encounter Unstabilized Approach
Flight Crew Became Reoriented; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Aircraft; Weather; Procedure; Human Factors
FO's (First Officer) landing into LAS. [The First Officer] used config 3 and added 5 knots to Vapp because of a gusty crosswind on runway 25L. The wind was reported as 190/10 gust to 18 on ATIS but the tower's last report was 190/9. Everything looked great until about 40 feet when it appeared we had a 'sinker' setting in. The first officer mechanically retarded the autothrust at 30 feet anyway and exacerbated the sinker. [The First Officer] decided to arrest the descent by over-rotating the airplane. I had time to say 'Pitch' only once before the auto pitch call out occurred. We were in quite a crab with a high rate of descent so my primary attention was outside. The touchdown was normal but quite nose high. The ACARS report said the pitch attitude was 8.1 degrees.We pre-briefed the gusty crosswinds; landed with config 3 which produces the most tail clearance and added an extra five knots to Vapp. It was quite honestly too late for me to take action. I was a check airman for many years on a different airplane and know firsthand that at some point in a landing; the situation is not salvageable. This was that time. [The First Officer] obviously didn't detect the 'sinker' and certainly shouldn't have retarded the thrust. We discussed different strategies to prevent another occurrence like this. As mentioned above; we discussed some techniques to prevent this from happening again. I don't think [the First Officer] was looking far enough down the runway to detect the 'sinker.' I also asked if [the First Officer] had ever landed with the autothrust off and the reply was no. This is a huge gap in our Airbus pilot's skill set. I almost always land with the autothrust off in gusty conditions so that I am 'connected' to the airspeed and sink rate trends. With the autothrust on; it is impossible to add thrust in the flare to counteract that dreaded 'sinker.' I rarely fly with pilots comfortable enough in the jet to turn the automation off and be pilots. This is a frightening trend.
An Airbus A320 series First Officer over rotated during a LAS crosswind landing after the 'bottom fell out' in the flare with autothrottles off. ACARS reported an 8.1 degree pitch angle.