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| Date: | Saturday 12 December 2009 |
| Time: | 16:57 |
| Type: |  Airbus A340-642 |
| Owner/operator: | Virgin Atlantic Airways |
| Registration: | G-VYOU |
| MSN: | 765 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2006 |
| Engine model: | Rolls-Royce Trent 556-61 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 298 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | London Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) |
| Los Angeles International Airport, CA (LAX/KLAX) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
During pre-flight preparations for flight VS23, the estimated landing weight was used to calculate takeoff performance rather than the takeoff weight. The error was not detected and the aircraft took off using values for VR and V2 that were significantly lower than those required for the actual takeoff weight. The aircraft was slow to rotate and initial climb performance was degraded but the aircraft continued to destination without further incident.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422ef1440f0b6134200021f/Airbus_A340-642__G-VYOU_07-10.pdf
2. CAA: https://siteapps.caa.co.uk/g-info/
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 14 April 2022 | 5N-AAM | Azman Air | 0 | Jeddah-King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED/OEJN) |  |
min |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Jul-2010 10:55 | harro | Added |
| 16-Nov-2016 14:36 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Cn, Location, Source, ] |
| 31-Oct-2024 08:47 | ASN | Updated [Other fatalities, Destination airport, Narrative, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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