Description

On 21 Nov 2010, a Boeing 737-700 being operated by Arik Air on a non revenue positioning flight from Southend to Lagos with only the two pilots on board carried out a successful take off in daylight and normal ground visibility from runway 06 but became airborne only just before the end of the runway.

Investigation

An Investigation into this Serious Incident was carried out by the UK AAIB with the assistance of the Operator, who provided Flight Data Recorder (FDR) data and crew reports, and Boeing. It was established that both pilots were qualified aircraft commanders with the one in the right hand seat designated as PF.

It was found that a reduced thrust had been used for the take off which had been commenced from the displaced landing threshold rather than using the available full runway length. This had the effect of reducing the full length Takeoff Run Available (TORA) of 4785 feet by 600 feet. After becoming airborne, it was found from Flight Data Recorder (FDR) data that the aircraft had crossed the end of the paved surface used at a height of 150 feet with the landing gear retracting and a rate of climb of 2590fpm.