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Take-off Accidents - Inadequate Performance

A review of large (above 5700 kg), turbine-powered aircraft accident and incident data has shown that there have been at least 12 major occurrences where take-off performance was significantly different from scheduled performance. Four of the aircraft involved were destroyed and there were 297 fatalities.

Underlying most of these occurrences were one or both of the following safety issues: the failure or absence of procedural defences to detect an error in the take-off performance data, and the failure of the crews to recognize abnormal performance once the take-off had commenced. These safety issues have been identified as causes and contributing factors in the TSB investigation into an accident involving MK Airlines Limited (A04H0004).

The following are some representative accidents taken from the data:

From at least as far back as 1972, there have been safety recommendations and initiatives to ensure that crews have a reliable on-board method of detecting abnormal take-off performance, particularly in situations where performance is less than required or expected. Unfortunately, there is still not a reliable in-cockpit system available for crews to detect and react to abnormal take-off performance in a timely manner.

The public report and other related documents are available on this site.