BOEING 737-823American Airlines

an inadvertent loss of airspeed and increased pitch attitude prior to touchdown.

the flight crews failure to perform a takeoff performance data briefing following the final entries into the Flight Management System, which would have alerted them to the incorrect weight entry and resulting incorrect landing speeds. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the flight crew to recognize and respond to various visual cues indicating the airplane's airspeed was too slow, resulting in a higher than normal pitch during landing and the tail of the airplane striking the runway.

the pilot flying's failure to maintain airspeed and correct pitch attitude. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to maintain appropriate thrust after disconnecting the autothrottles. Also contributing was the first officer's failure to monitor the decaying airspeed and increasing pitch.

The captain’s failure to recognize that the airplane’s location did not agree with the assigned departure runway as required per the Southwest Airlines Airplane Operating Manual, and the captain’s plan continuation error when he missed several cues that would have informed him that he was not on the assigned departure runway when he initiated takeoff.

Southwest Airlines flight crew’s misjudgment of the distance required to safely pass the American Airlines airplane.