What happened
On July 30, 1997, an Emirates Airbus A300-600, registration A6-EKO, was preparing for a scheduled passenger and cargo flight from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Dubai. During the takeoff roll, as the aircraft accelerated to approximately 40 knots, the nose pitched up abruptly, causing the tail to strike the runway with significant force. The crew immediately aborted the takeoff and returned the aircraft to the parking stand.
While the aircraft sustained structural damage to the lower fuselage and tail area, there were no injuries or fatalities among the 14 crew members and 2/20 passengers on board.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the aircraft's weight and balance configuration. Investigators examined the loading documentation, the computerized GAETAN system used for mass and balance calculations, and the physical distribution of cargo and fuel.
Flight data recorder (FDR) analysis revealed that as the engines reached 105% N1, the aircraft's pitch began to increase rapidly. The nose reached a maximum pitch of 11 degrees at a speed of 74 knots before the crew aborted the takeoff. Additionally, investigators reviewed cockpit voice recorder (CVR) transcripts, which captured the crew's confusion regarding the sudden pitch change and their subsequent communication with air traffic control.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was an extreme aft center of gravity that fell well outside the manufacturer's allowable limits.
- A data entry error occurred during the use of the GAETAN computerized loading system, where an incorrect value was entered into the mass and balance calculation.
- This error led to an improper loading of cargo and an incorrect fuel transfer, resulting in a real center of gravity much further aft than the calculated 33.0% indicated on the flight documents.
- The aircraft's tail structure, including the lower fuselage frames and skin, sustained various forms of deformation and damage due to the impact with the runway.