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| Title: | Tail scrape on takeoff, Boeing 737-3YO, G-BWJA, 19 May 1997 |
| Micro summary: | A brisk rotation resulted in a slight tail scrape on takeoff. |
| Event Time: | 1997-05-19 at 1355 UTC |
| File Name: | 1997-05-19-UK.pdf |
| Publishing Agency: | Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) |
| Publishing Country: | United Kingdom |
| Report number: | EW/C97/5/6 |
| Pages: | 3 |
| Site of event: | London Luton |
| Departure: | London Luton Airport, London, England |
| Destination: | Edinburgh Airport, Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Airplane Type(s): | Boeing 737-3YO |
| Flight Phase: | Takeoff |
| Registration(s): | G-BWJA |
| Operator(s): | Monarch Airlines |
| Type of flight: | Revenue |
| Occupants: | 56 |
| Fatalities: | 0 |
| Serious Injuries: | 0 |
| Minor/Non-Injured: | 56 |
| Other Injuries: | 0 |
| Executive Summary: | The first officer was undergoing his first week of line training and had already completed 10 sectors, all under the supervision of the same Training Captain who was the commander on the incident flight; following satisfactory progress, the 'screen' first officer had been released after 8 sectors. The commander had assessed the previous 7 take offs, carried out by the first officer, as satisfactory. This flight was the first of the day for the crew. The weather was reasonable with light rain and a surface wind of 180°/08 kt; Runway 08 was in use. Flap 1 was used for take off and the passengers were distributed evenly throughout the cabin. The ground roll was normal and the first officer commenced rotation at the commander's call of "Rotate"; this had been calculated as 126 kt and was coincident with V1. The commander assessed that the aircraft nose pitched up more rapidly than normal but not excessively so and he considered it as a result of the light take-off weight. Subsequently, the climb was normal and the handling pilot levelled the aircraft at cruise flight level. However, one of the cabin attendants who had been seated at the rear of the aircraft had noted an unusual noise at take off and, during the cruise, reported the fact to the commander. There had been no comment from ATC at Luton and a check of the cockpit indications revealed no adverse indications; the pressurisation had performed normally during the climb and level off. Therefore,the commander decided to continue the flight to Edinburgh and the first officer made a normal landing at 1442 hrs. After arrival on the stand, the commander checked the rear of the aircraft and noted that the water drain mast had scrape marks. He postulated that this had occurred on take off from Luton and informed the aircraft ground engineers. Checks of the airframe confirmed the scrape marks on the drain mast but no other damage. |
| Learning Keywords: | Operations - Tailstrike |
| Consequence - Damage - Airframe or fuselage |
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