An airplane that cannot take off because it is much too heavily loaded. It sometimes happens due to excess luggage, for example. Something completely different happened at Japan Airlines last week. It wasn’t heavy suitcases or bags that were the culprits, but the passengers. “This is a very unusual situation.”
What was going on? A Japan Airlines plane was unable to take off because it exceeded its maximum weight limit. This was because some of the heaviest men in the country were on the passenger list, reports ‘The Guardian’: about 27 sumo wrestlers weighing at least 120 kilos each. They all weighed much more than the average Japanese weight of 70 kilos.
Additional equipment deployed
The Japanese sumo wrestlers had to fly from Haneda airports in Tokyo and Itami airports in Osaka to Amami Oshima due to a sporting event. A larger aircraft was not an option, so an additional aircraft had to be used for 14 of the 27 wrestlers. That almost never happens, says a spokesperson for the airline. “It is extremely unusual for us to operate special flights due to weight restrictions.”
Airline companies must adhere to strict rules on every flight, including the maximum weight limit. This limit is set so that it does not interfere with an aircraft’s fuel capacity.
292.6 kilograms
According to ‘The Guardian’, there is no minimum weight required to become a sumo wrestler. Mainoumi, who reached the top division in the 1990s, weighed about the same as England rugby captain Owen Farrell. Yet today the age-old sport is dominated by heavier men. Ōrora, a Russian-born rikishi who retired in 2018, is the heaviest of all time, weighing 292.6 kilograms at his peak.
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