I was finishing the FCOM v2 and was looking over the tailskid. Seeing as it has pretty sizable wear indicators on both the skirt and shoe, does this mean that tailstrikes are common on these aircraft? It looks as if providing it was more of a slight bump and not a full on whack on the pavement, no inspection is needed. In the DA40 that I fly, one tailstrike, no matter how light and the thing has to be grounded until a full inspection of the tail can be done.

I would imagine anytime you strike the tail of an aircraft it would require some sort of inspection. In the military we have conditional inspection requirements for such events. On the H-60 it is just to check the bumper's sacrificial metal for excessive wear, inspect the outboard stabilators (composite mind you) for damage, and check the center stabilator box bushings, such for obvious damage, and inspect the tail bumpers oleo strut. I don't think on the 737 you have to worry about striking the elevator edges on deck, but I imagine with all the weight, and depending on how fast the pilot rotated you could do a number on the tail structure.

I'm sure a tailstrike in an NG is a major event requiring a structural check. A tailstrike caused the worst single aircraft disaster in history seven years down the line - http://en.wikipedia....ines_Flight_123

Looking back over the FCOM, heres the part that lead me to pose the question. for the shoe itself, almost half of it has to be worn before it hits the "wear dimples" signaling it needs to be replaced. There is also a crushable cartridge in the skirt. Obviously if it was a hard hit, the cartridge would crush immediately and an inspection would be in order while it's being replaced with a new one. However, it says that the skid is still serviceable as long as both green and red indicators are present. As soon as it's just red or the shoe is worn, it has to be replaced. I guess i should've worded my question as what if the cartridge isn't completely crushed? And why doesn't the manual say to inspect the tail if any signs of shoe wear or a slightly crushed cartridge is present?