Communications:MH370 Loadsheet
MH370: Final Loadsheet
1. Background
The Final Loadsheet for flight MH370 was sent by Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to the aircraft via ACARS at 1606:32 UTC, 07 March 2014 [0006:32 MYT, 08 March 2014]. The message was addressed direct to the aircraft printer and to be printed out by the crew.
2. Final Loadsheet - ACARS Message Transcript
The following is a transcript of the message from Malaysia Airlines to the crew on MH370, plus two related messages which indicate that the transmission was successful and acknowledged.
Note: On this website all ACARS message headers have the rows arranged for ease of reading. No data has been changed. The message can be understood by using Tooltips - place a mouse or cursor over any word which is faintly underlined to reveal information about the item.
| Time 16:06:32 |
Trans 381598235 |
Direction Outgoing Uplink |
AN 9M-MRO |
FI MH0370 |
Medium |
Machine MHKULKJACM001 |
Raw DTG 071606 |
SMI AGM |
Application RELAY |
| Status Uplink Sent |
Message Type Loadsheet FINAL <9M-MR> -- LOADSHEET - AGM(Printer) |
Source/Destination QXSXMXS |
|||||||
QU QXSXMXS
.DPCCAMH 071606
AGM
AN 9M-MRO/FI MH0370/MA 990I
-
X LOADSHEET FINAL 1606 01
MH0370/ 07MAR14
KUL PEK 9M-MRO 2/10
ZFW 174369 MAX 195044 L
TOF 49100
TOW 223469 MAX 286897
TIF 37200
LAW 186269 MAX 208652
UNDLD 20675
PAX/10/215 TTL 227
TTL 222/3/2
TTL COMPARTMENTS 014296
1/2500 2/4530 3/804 4/5
885 5/577 0/0
SEATING
0A/10 0B/127 0C/88
DOI 59.07
LIZFW 67.05
MACZFW 31.65
LITOW 70.05
MACTOW 33.78
DLI 57.29
STAB TO 03.9 MID
SI:
NOTOC YES
TTL PAYLOAD 014296
DOW 143283
WBC K8-45
EXP 20SEP14
NOTOC - YES
PAX/10/215 TTL 227
TTL 222/3/2
0A/10 0B/127 0C/88
- -------------------------------------------*
- PLSE ACK WITH *
- "LS FINAL OK (LIC NO) (DEP STATION-ICAO)" *
- WHEN RECEIVE LS *
- -------------------------------------------*
| Time 16:06:33 |
Trans 381598235 |
Direction Incoming Downlink |
AN 9M-MRO |
FI MH0370 |
Medium |
Machine MHKULKJACM001 |
Raw DTG 071606 |
SMI MAS |
Application RELAY |
| Status Normal |
Message Type MAS-L (link ack) |
Source/Destination QXSXMXS |
|||||||
QU DPCCAMH
.QXSXMXS 071606
MAS
AN 9M-MRO/FI MH0370/MA 990L
| Time 16:07:06 |
Trans 381598235 |
Direction Incoming Downlink |
AN 9M-MRO |
FI MH0370 |
Medium IOR2 |
Machine MHKULKJACM001 |
Raw DTG 071607 |
SMI MAS |
Application RELAY |
| Status Normal |
Message Type MAS-S (successful) |
Source/Destination QXSXMXS |
|||||||
QU DPCCAMH
.QXSXMXS 071607
MAS
AN 9M-MRO/FI MH0370/MA 990S
DT QXT IOR2 071607 S20A
3. Final Loadsheet Acknowledgement - ACARS Message Transcript
At the end of the Loadsheet message was a request for acknowledgement with specific wording 'LS Final OK' and a Licence Number.
The response, sent from MH370, is below:-
| Time 16:09:28 |
Trans 46818215 |
Direction Incoming Downlink |
AN 9M-MRO |
FI MH0370 |
Medium IOR2 |
Machine MHKULKJACM001 |
Raw DTG 071609 |
SMI A81 |
Application RELAY |
| Status Normal |
Message Type B777 Final Loadsheet Acknowledgement |
Source/Destination QXSXMXS |
|||||||
QU DPCCAMH
.QXSXMXS 071609
A81
FI MH0370/AN 9M-MRO
DT QXT IOR2 071609 M00A
- LS FINAL OK
751 KUL
In the response, the Licence Number cited is 751. From the Safety Investigation Report Section 1.5.3 Pilot-in-Command Captain Shah's Air Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) number is A751. So the acknowledgement was from Captain Zaharie Shah.
4. Persons On-Board Flight MH370
The Final Loadsheet states the number of passengers on-board using the latin term PAX, which means persons. Some of the details are:-
- PAX/10/215 TTL 227
- This line means 10 passengers in Golden Club Class (GCCL) or Business Class and 227 passengers in Economy Class (EYCL) or a total (TTL) of 227.
- TTL 222/3/2
- This line shows that of the 227 passengers, 222 were adults, 3 were children and 2 were infants, again totalling 227.
- SEATING 0A/10 0B/127 0C/88
This data shows, again, that 10 passengers were seated in Business Class (GCCL) and 127 plus 88 in Economy Class. This time, however, 127 + 88 equals 215 because the two infants were not allocated seats. This is consistent with the seating plan released by Malaysia Airlines which does not show a seat number for those two infants.
The Economy Class was divided into two sections, which explains the two sub-totals of 127 and 88.
5. Additional Information
The Safety Investigation Report MH370/01/2018 has more information in the following Sections:-
- Some of the ACARS messages, including the Final Loadsheet, are discussed in Section 1.9.4 Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting under the topic 1) Aircraft Communications Addressing & Reporting System Traffic Log
- Much of the Final Loadsheet relates to aircraft weight and balance. This is covered in Section 1.6.5 Weight and Balance, which states that 'Based on the available data, the aircraft weight and balance for the take-off from Kuala Lumpur was found to be normal and within the allowable limits.
- Additional ACARS communications related to the Final Loadsheet message are included in the September 2018 version - linked here