The tail of the MK Airlines Boeing 747-200F that crashed during take-off at Halifax, Canada may have hit the ground twice before the aircraft careered off the end of the runway and broke up, write David Learmount and Matthew Jones.
Marks on runway 06 may have significance as the tail was found just beyond the runway, separate from the wreckage, but Canadian Transportation Safety Board (TSB) investigators say they are "keeping an open mind" on all the causes, including load shift.
On 14 October the Ghanaian-registered aircraft (9G-MKJ) attempted a take-off with a 103t payload compared with a maximum for the Halifax-Zaragoza, Spain route of 110t, says UK-based MK Airlines, but it does not appear to have got airborne. The aircraft hit an earth bank in the runway overrun near where the tail wreckage came to rest, and the fuselage was destroyed by fire, killing all seven crew. The flight data recorder was operable, and the TSB says information on 107 parameters has been downloaded. The cockpit voice recorder was damaged so badly that no information will be recoverable, say the investigators.
Weather information at the time indicates the aircraft started the take-off run with a 5kt (9.3km/h) tailwind. Maintenance reports indicate the aircraft had a C check in Indonesia in September, and since then two of the 747's Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines had been replaced.
Source: Flight International
