Loading Errors Kill?
For the past 85 plus years the industry has been well served by the manifest weight & balance system (MWBS) or load sheet.
We as practioners of this fine art, pilots, dispatchers loadies etc are well aware of the garbage rule "Garbage in Garbage out."
However what we are not so well aware of is the sheer volume of loading errors that the load sheet system cannot detect.
On board weight & balance systems (OBWBS) using landing gear load sensors or axle strain gauges and associated software have been around since the early 1980s.
They have their detractors. A common cry is too innacurate in windy conditions and too many spurious warnings just before take off.
Few operators appear to trust the system and this borne out by the fact that the majority of systems pilots will come across on the line are fitted to leased or pool aircraft.
OBWBS are not a requirement therefore they will not gain general acceptance until they are. Is this a fair statement?
Your comments please.
Last edited by targaman; 9th July 2005 at 09:29.