Description

On 12 January 2003, a Boeing 737-800 being operated by Dutch airline Transavia on a passenger charter flight initially going from Rotterdam to Maastricht-Aachen was obliged to reject its take off on Runway 24 at Rotterdam after it pitched nose-up just after take-off thrust had been selected. The pitch up movement only stopped when the aft fuselage and the tailskid assembly contacted the runway and only when the flight crew rejected the take-off did the aircraft nose gear regain ground contact. The aircraft was damaged and unfit for flight but able to taxi back to the terminal to allow the uninjured passengers to disembark.

Investigation

An investigation was carried out by the Dutch Safety Board. It was found that the incident flight had been the first leg of a planned multi sector flight. Nearly all the passengers boarding at Rotterdam Airport were allocated seats at the rear of the cabin and seated themselves there as allocated. This action by the Operator’s Ground Handling Contractor at Rotterdam, Aviapartner, was intentional and had the objective of simplifying boarding at the next stop. However, this drastically uneven passenger distribution led to the aircraft centre of gravity being situated far behind the applicable aft limit.