Loading a plane with people & cargo is not like loading a bus or a train | India News
A weighty matter
It’s all about weight distribution
When the captain and co-pilot walk into the aircraft, a flight dispatcher gives them the expected weight on board:
-Fuel weight + cargo weight + passengers’ weight
-Information on the total number of passengers is not given at the time
-The pilot starts feeding the weight data into the flight management computer. Among other things, it calculates various speeds, such as different speeds for take-off and approach
-The technical log comes in and it gives more weight details, such as tons of fuel and litres of oil in engines
The next steps
After the final check-in bag is put into the hold, the last piece of cargo loaded and the last passenger has boarded, a ground staff member comes to the commander and hands him/her a set of papers called load and trim sheet.
This sheet lists details such as:
Final number of passengers and crew on board
-Break-up of male, female, infants
-Weights loaded onto each zone of the aircraft
-Whether aircraft is loaded in such a way that its center of gravity remains within prescribed zone through all stages of flight
The aircraft door is shut
-Cabin crew certify that all passengers are seated with seat belts on before pushback
-Crew ensure that all aircraft doors are armed (setting door to automatic mode so that emergency evacuation slides will deploy if opened)
-The aircraft is now ready to push back
Last steps
-Pilots inform ATC about he total number of people on board and seek clearance for push back. Eg: “XYZ 124, we have 180 people on board. Ready to start up and taxi. ” ATC will either give clearance or inform pilot that they are number x in sequence/queue
-At this point, if aircraft door has to be opened to accommodate even one passenger, the entire process has to be repeated!
-The moment the aircraft parking brakes are released, the departure time is registered electronically
