An update to the airline’s reservation system while its planes were grounded due to the coronavirus pandemic led to 38 passengers on the flight being allocated a child’s “standard weight” of 35kg as opposed to the adult figure of 69kg.
This caused the load sheet – produced for the captain to calculate what inputs are needed for take-off – to state that the Boeing 737 was more than 1,200kg lighter than it actually was.
Investigators described the glitch as “a simple flaw” in an IT system. It was programmed in an unnamed foreign country where the title “Miss” is used for a child and “Ms” for an adult female.
And speaking of flights:
Absolutely incredible capture of St. Elmo’s Fire last night by my good buddy @Scuba_F16. He was piloting a Boeing 767 somewhere over Georgia and this crazy weather phenomenon started happening. Never seen it before! pic.twitter.com/U93VqytfUH
— Mike Olbinski (@MikeOlbinski) March 26, 2021