Ryan International B737-800 tail bump at Milwaukee

[APC77Z]

Anyone have any info on a Ryan International B737-800 that hit the tailskid on takeoff from General Mitchell Airport in Wisconsin on Friday? Is this typically the symptom of overloading?

Aircraft is registered as EI-DJT, which shows up as a Futura Airlines aircraft in Airliners.net pictures.

FAA incident report reads:
IDENTIFICATIONRegis#: EI-DJT Make/Model: B737 Description: 737Date: 03/14/2008 Time: 1157Event Type: Incident Highest Injury: None Damage: MinorLOCATIONCity: MILWAUKEE State: WI Country: USDESCRIPTIONRYN 50, A B737, RECORDED A TAIL SKID STRIKE ON TAKEOFF, RETURNED TO GENERAL MITCHELL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (MKE) AND LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT, MILWAUKEE, WIINJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0# Crew: 3 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: # Pass: 188 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk: # Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:

[Funnel Cloud]

Hello,

I don't have any info on this particular event, but tailstrikes are not that uncommon at all. They are normally not cause due overloading, occasionally due to incorrect loading, i.e. an incorrect center of gravity.

It could also be caused due to the pilot rotating to quickly or because of a miscalculation in the take-off speeds.

Tailstrikes do happen on the -800 because the fuselage is long and close to the ground, so even a textbook takeoff already brings the tail close to the runway.

Hope that helps!

FC

[RAT 5]

What is an Irish reg a/c doing flying pax in USA? Is this a seasonal sub-charter contract?

[pattern_is_full]

http://www.flyryan.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryanair

RyanAir and Ryan international seem to be quite separate companies - and Ryan Int. is HQ'd in ROCKFORD , ILL. USA

[hellsbrink]

(look at the aircraft registration.....)

[pattern_is_full]

So owner of record is a leasing company in Dublin, not any particular airline (if the reg. is correct)

http://flyinginireland.com/eireg.php...tration=EI-DJT

Futura = Spanish
RyanAir = Irish
Ryan International = US

Are -86Ns extended-range? Guess it could be a Futura charter from Milwaukee to some warm Atlantic place if it has the legs...

[Dream Land]

I heard it was very minor (foreign crew), already back in service.

[Bearcat]

ah yes....foreign crew.......we yanks never make a hash of things!

[Avman]

What is an Irish reg a/c doing flying pax in USA? Is this a seasonal sub-charter contract?

Irish registered a/c flying with US carriers is nothing new. Been going on for years. Air Cal and Western Air Lines in the eighties; America West and Air South in the nineties just to name a few.

[B767-383]

A flaps 1 departure on a 738 will only give you about 33 cm of tail clearance... thats not a very big buffer if you overrotate. A cause could be that there was more weight in Hold 3/4 then the load sheet showed therefore resulting in a wrong trim. (pure speculation)

safe flying,

B.

[Bushfiva]

flaps 1 departure on a 738 will only give you about 33 cm of tail clearance

As someone with a non-commercial aero background, I never thought about this. I've been Googling like crazy, but in general how much clearance is there between your average commercial aircraft and the runway at rotation? By what margin do you have to get it wrong, for it to be a problem?

[jonseagull]

33.1 cm apparently