From input error to near disaster at Melbourne airport

An Emirates flight EK-407 from Melbourne to Dubai narrowly avoided disaster, with 275 people on the Airbus jet. On the flight deck, the first officer and the captain fed routine information, including the plane's weight and fuel load, into a computer. The procedure was for them to check each other's work to avoid mistakes. The first officer opened the throttles and headed down runway. As the first officer tried to ease the aircraft off the runway, the jet stayed grounded. On a second attempt, the nose came up — but the jet's rear repeatedly hit and dragged along runway, puncturing the skin of the jet, tearing off a panel and breaching the air pressurisation. Eventually, at the end of the runway, the jet began climbing. But it was still too low, hitting a runway light, then antenna equipment on the ground, and scraping the grass. With seconds to spare, the jet climbed and finally reached a safe height. The pilots dumped most of their fuel over the bay and, with smoke in the cabin, the plane was given emergency clearance to land. When the pilots checked their instruments they spotted the potentially fatal mistake. Before take-off, their fuelled-up jet weighed 362 tonnes. But they had accidentally keyed in 262 tonnes, resulting in too little engine power. Only the captain's rapid reactions averted a disaster. Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 01 May 2009. tinyurl.com/kjd3r2
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