AAIB investigation to Boeing 737-8K5, G-FDZJ
Incorrect stabiliser trim on takeoff, Malta International Airport, 28 September 2017.
Summary:
G-FDZJ was operating a charter flight from Malta to Manchester on behalf of a cruise ship company. On takeoff the pilot flying found the aircraft required significantly more aft control column movement than normal to rotate. The available evidence indicates that the aircraft was out of trim due to an incorrect MACTOW on the load sheet. This occurred because passenger’s actual seating positions were not passed to the handling agent. When producing the load sheet the handling agent assumed an even distribution of passengers within the cabin, when the actual distribution created a forward bias.
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Published 8 February 2018