AAIB investigation to Boeing 737-8K5, G-TAWG 21 July 2020
Actual takeoff weight was greater than that stated on the loadsheet, at Birmingham Airport, 21 July 2020.
Summary:
The operator had suspended operations for several months due to Covid-19 restrictions, and prior to the incident flight the reservation system from which the load sheet was produced had been upgraded. There was a fault in the system which, when a female passenger checked in for the flight and used or was given the title ‘Miss’, caused the system checked her in as a child. The system allocated them a child’s standard weight of 35 kg as opposed to the correct female standard weight of 69 kg. Consequently, with 38 females checked in incorrectly and misidentified as children, the G-TAWG takeoff mass from the load sheet was 1,244 kg below the actual mass of the aircraft.
Following this serious incident, the operator introduced a daily check to ensure adult females were referred to as Ms on the relevant documentation, with a secondary check by Operations staff against passenger loads. A more formal system of checks was introduced on 24 July 2020.
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