MK Airlines Flight 1602

MK Airlines Flight 1602 was an MK Airlines Boeing 747-200 cargo flight on a flight from Halifax Stanfield International Airport, Nova Scotia, Canada, to Zaragoza Airport, Spain. On 14 October 2004, it crashed on take-off from Halifax, killing the crew of 7. It was the fourth accident for MK Airlines.

Accident

At 00:03 local time, on 14 October 2004, MK Airlines Flight 1602 took off from Windsor Locks-Bradley International Airport, Connecticut. The aircraft was loaded with a cargo of lawn tractors and made an intermediate stop at Halifax at 02:12 to be loaded up with approximately 53000 kg of lobster and fish.

Flight 1602 taxied to Runway 24 (now Runway 23), and the takeoff roll was commenced at 06:53:22. When the aircraft reached 130 knots, the control column was moved aft to 8.4° to initiate rotation as the aircraft passed the 5500 ft mark of Runway 24; with 3300 ft left on the runway, the aircraft began to rotate. The pitch attitude stabilized briefly at approximately 9° nose-up, with an airspeed of 144 knots. Because the 747 still had not lifted off the runway, the control column was moved further aft to 10°, and the aircraft responded with a further pitch up to approximately 11°; at this time, a tailstrike occurred. The aircraft was approximately at the 8000 ft mark and slightly left of the center-line. The control column was then relaxed slightly, to 9° aft. The pitch attitude stabilized in the 11° range for the next four seconds, and the tailstrike abated as a result. With approximately 600 ft of runway remaining, the thrust levers were advanced to 92% and the engine pressure ratios (EPRs) increased to 1.60. With 420 ft remaining, a second tailstrike took place. As the aircraft passed the end of the runway, the control column was 13.5° aft, pitch attitude was 11.9° nose-up, and airspeed was 152 knots. The highest recorded nose-up pitch of 14.5° was recorded at one minute and two seconds after takeoff initiation after the aircraft passed the end of the runway at a speed of 155 knots. The aircraft became airborne approximately 670 ft beyond the paved surface and flew a distance of 325 ft. The lower aft fuselage then struck an earthen berm supporting an instrument landing system (ILS) localizer antenna 300 m beyond the end of the runway, separating from the plane. The plane then headed forwards in a straight line for another 1200 ft, breaking into pieces and bursting into flames when it struck the ground.