An Etihad Airways flight was forced to abort its take-off at high speed, resulting in the aircraft leaving the runway blocked in Melbourne.
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was travelling close to 300km/h, according to flight tracking site Flightradar24, before it aborted take off just before 7pm yesterday.
Melbourne Airport said firefighting foam was used as a precaution and the runway was left blocked
The incident occurred due to damage sustained to the aircraft’s tyres, prompting the pilots to execute an emergency procedure.
As a result, airport operations experienced significant delays while crews worked to clear the runway and assess the situation.
Passengers and crew aboard the flight were unharmed, but the incident raised concerns about the aircraft’s safety and the need for thorough inspections before it could resume operations.
”Due to damage to the aircraft’s tyres, we have been unable to tow it off the runway,” the airport said.
“Repairs are currently underway. All passengers have disembarked the aircraft and have been bussed to the terminal.
“We continue to have one runway available for operations, which will be used for all arrivals and departures. Disruptions to other flights have been minimal.”
