FACULTY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

SEMM 1911 Experimental Method (SEM 1 2022/2023)

Case Study 2 (Statistical Analysis)

Background

Maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of an aircraft means the maximum weight that the
particular aircraft can handle for the take-off process. The value of MTOW is usually
expressed in the unit of kilogram, and it includes the weight of the aircraft together with the
weight of the fuel, the passengers and the luggage it carries. While the weight of the fuel can
be obtained rather easily, the process to measure the weight of every passenger boarding the
aircraft is a little bit challenging especially in a busy airport. Therefore, in civilian aviation
industry, a reference value is usually used to represent the weight of each passenger so that
the total weight of the passengers can be calculated by the flight engineers or pilots to verify
MTOW. The reference weight of a passenger is typically differentiated based on gender and
age groups.

Questions

For this case study, the data of the passengers' weight (adult, male) using a certain airport are
provided in the following tables. Based on the data, proper statistical analysis must be carried
out so that:

1. the trend in the passengers' weight from 2010 to 2022 can be explained.
2. a reasonable prediction for the trend from 2026 to 2040 can be established.
3. a reasonable reference value for the weight of an adult and male passenger can be set,
and the value must cover about 85-80% of the total number of passengers based on
the data given and it must be valid for 2026 until 2040.

For additional information, the reference value for an adult and male passenger was
previously set at 81 kg and it is valid from 2010 until 2022. An excessively low reference
value puts the safety of the aircraft at risks due to the possibility of overloading, while an
excessively high reference value causes difficulties to the airliners to achieve profitability due
to underloading.

The submission must be made in the form of a printed formal report.

Distribution of weight for adult, male passengers using a certain airport
in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022.
Number of passengers
Weight Year Year Year Year
(kg) 2010 2014 2018 2022
< 40 102 99 72 75
41-45 682 576 560 542
46-50 977 930 970 955
51-55 1154 1134 1104 1096
56-60 1214 1293 1193 1209
61-65 1313 1292 1235 1233
66-70 1134 1022 1093 1112
71-75 947 961 992 1001
76-80 799 814 850 843
81-85 720 775 791 723
86-90 577 642 647 655
91-95 254 326 332 351
96-100 90 96 106 132
> 101 37 40 55 73