Oct 01 2009
Best aborted takeoff video you’ll see all day.
Came across this video on YouTube a few days ago.
Observations:
- The dust that blows back over the aircraft after it runs off into the dirt indicates they were trying to take off with a tail wind.
- The crew didn’t put the props into beta when they rejected the takeoff which would have slowed the aircraft more and would perhaps have avoided the over run to begin with. Perhaps there was a reason (I’d be interested to know) as I’ll admit I’m not a specialist on large turboprop multi’s.
- For reportedly being a small airport in South Africa in a shanty-town area, the emergency response vehicle is on top of things extremely fast, with sirens being audible only seconds after the overrun occurred.
Yeah, don’t rush to the scene or anything, guys. Much better to yell at each other and slowly saunter in that general direction.
Word in the YouTube comment thread is that the ground employees are only really interested in a mishap/crash if there’s looting to be had.