Tail strike at JFK

[Hollis]

A rare event. The return back to JFK was routine so I didn't include any audio of that.
(In my earlier days of FAA Certification flight tests, that would be known as an 'abused rotation', or basically an early rotation prior to Vr to achieve max Cl, maximum lift just above stall, an FAA requirement to verify 3-axis controllability as well as obtaining the minimum 100 fpm positive climb rate).
Obviously it worked in this case in spite of the hard right yaw.

[dska22]

A rare event. The return back to JFK was routine so I didn't include any audio of that.
(In my earlier days of FAA Certification flight tests, that would be known as an 'abused rotation', or basically an early rotation prior to Vr to achieve max Cl, maximum lift just above stall, an FAA requirement to verify 3-axis controllability as well as obtaining the minimum 100 fpm positive climb rate).
Obviously it worked in this case in spite of the hard right yaw.

I'm a little confused.  Can you explain a bit more about the procedure post-bird strike in this scenario and what you mean by "verify 3-axis controllability."  How does one "verify" this?  Isn't the procedure to just go for takeoff after V1?  Basically, what is different after V1 in a bird strike scenario?  Thanks!

Edit:  Also, the pilot only mentions that he thinks they hit birds.  Is he unaware of the tail strike?

[Hollis]

There are several critical speeds during the takeoff roll that have to be determined. Vmc, the minimum controll speed for flight in the event of an engine failure, usually dictated by available rudder control.
Vmu, the minimum unstick speed, where the airplane can be lifted off. This is where tail strikes can occur due to the geometry of the fuselage, since the nose up angle (angle of attack) for maximum lift can exceed the maximum physical nose up angle to the runway.
In actuality, Vmu could equal the stall speed, Vs, if not for geometric limits of the nose up angle. But lateral control could be a problem there.
Other factors such as runway length are involved with other speeds, V1, etc. And these speeds are dictated by other factors as well, such as weight, density altitude, etc.
From what I heard, the pilot was not aware of the tail strike, only that he may have hit something. 

[dxtr17]

Did they land and fix it?

[athaker]

Yea I agree...it seems like everyone except the other Jet Blue flight missed the "tail strike" part...even though he clearly mentions the pavement.  Maybe they figured it out later but never over ATC comms...