Incident Details
During the initial climb after takeoff, the right main landing gear of an aircraft struck a 27-foot tall light pole located 1,677 feet from the end of the runway. The aircraft's gross weight required a takeoff with flaps set at 5 degrees. Company performance data had authorized departure on either runway 5R or 23L.
Circumstances
The crew performed an intersection takeoff on runway 23R, which provided 10,415 feet of usable runway instead of the programmed 13,190 feet available on runways 5R/23L. The captain was pilot flying, but neither the copilot nor the flight engineer recognized the discrepancy or initiated corrective action. The density altitude at the time was approximately 10,000 feet above mean sea level.
Outcome
Contact with the light pole resulted in a blown #4 tire and damage to the landing gear assembly and the trailing edge flap. The aircraft landed without further incident at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), its intended destination.