Might have been just using the wrong runway Ralph; did the figures for the longer runway but used the short. Stranger things have happened in this business called aviation.
I recall a similar incident many,many years ago in Melbourne when a SQ 747 loaded to the hilt used R27 and dragged its gear through the approach array and hay bales for some hundreds of metres before struggling into the sky.
Fortunately it did get airborne because the Jacksons' creek valley is a couple of hundred feet deep and only a mile or so beyond the runway end.
As I recall it, they had done figures for R34, but had left the ATIS audio on and had become 'conditioned' to using 27 because it was being nominated as the duty RW.
But having said that, I do acknowledge that yesterday's galley rumours do get bandied around as fact a couple of days later.
Last edited by relax737; 8th Aug 2008 at 09:31.