Description

On 9 September 2007, an MCDONNELL DOUGLAS MD-83 being operated by Austrian Company MAP Jet, which was over the permitted weight for the runway and conditions, made a night take off from Are/Ostersund airport, Sweden, and after failing to get airborne until almost the end of the runway, collided with the approach lights for the opposite runway direction before climbing away and completing the intended flight to Antalya.

The Investigation

An Annex 13 Serious Incident Investigation was carried out by the Swedish AIB and their Report was published on 18 September 2009. The Investigation found that:

• The take off was made more than 3 tonnes above the maximum permitted weight for the runway and prevailing conditions.
• Rotation was initiated when 630 metres of the runway remained and was slower than normal
• The nose wheel lifted when 250 metres of the runway remained.
• The main wheels lifted when 30 metres of the runway remained.
• The height of the aircraft as it passed the runway threshold was less than 30 cm.

It also concluded that both the arrangements under which the flight crew were operating as employees of the aircraft lessor (MAP) and the implementation of JAR-OPS procedures by that aircraft operator were not properly constituted.

The overall conclusion published in the Final Report was that:

"The incident was caused by deficiencies in the company’s handling of the balance between flight safety and production. These deficiencies lead, among other things, to that take off performance calculations was carried out without some limiting factors, implying that the aircraft mass exceeded the maximum allowed under the prevailing conditions."