LATAM 777-300ER tail-strike probe indicates take-off data discrepancy

Italian investigators probing a LATAM Airlines Boeing 777-300ER tail-strike at Milan Malpensa indicate a discrepancy between the take-off parameters used by the crew and those calculated by the carrier after the event. The aircraft had been conducting a service to Sao Paulo on 9 July. Its tail contacted the ground as it rotated from runway 35L, damaging its tail-skid, a drain mast and the tail-strike sensor. The crew, having been notified by tower controllers of the tail-strike, opted to jettison fuel – a total of 72t – and return to Malpensa. The aircraft landed on runway 35R some 1h 10min after the occurrence. Italian investigation authority ANSV states that the 777, which was transporting 383 passengers and 15 crew members, had a take-off weight of 328.4t according to the loadsheet. Flight-data recorder information shows the aircraft started rotating at 153kt, in line with the 149kt entered into the flight-management system. Some 5s after the pitch-up command, the aircraft was 8.2° nose-up with an airspeed of 166kt, and tail-strike indicators activated. The twinjet lifted off at 180kt having scored the runway surface over a distance of 723m (2,370ft), from between the DM and DE intersections to the EM intersection.<br/>