The point of my question ....
I'd heard of the -300s tipping before they redesigned the gear. In this case, a -402 crew could not get the nose gear down. After 21 attempts using various combinations of normal, standby and emergency lowering, having pulled g in a steep turn and done a touch-and-go they finally accepted the inevitable - land. The aircraft had been flying around for 2:30 by this stage and the captain estimated about 20 mins fuel remaining. He remembered an SEP scenario he once took part in and decided to get the cabin to shift some of the pax to the rear - his logic being to allow for a more gentle lowering of the nose. I was just wondering if he might inadvertently have increased the risk of sitting the thing on its tail.
Thanks for everyones' input