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Data entry REAR-END SNAFU: Weighty ballsup leads to plane take-off flap

Vic

This is the sort of thing that the plane's computer should do

No, absolutely not.

De-skilling the pilot's job is what leads to accidents - Air France has several crashes that are entirely because the pilot(s) decided to put all their trust in the computers (and then failed to jnotice that the computer was telling them not to).

Weights and balances calculations are a simple operation; all that's needed is for the check-in staff to *check* their passengers in properly.

Not having any instrumentation so the problem can't be detected until the plane is halfway down the runway, is crazy. That may well be too late

It isn't too late. The take-off procedure allows for this sort of error, and will leave the pilot plenty of room to abort the take-off if the aircraft cannot be flown. Aircraft designers aren't *all* idiots...

Vic.

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