Takeoff and landing are the most dangerous parts of any flight, and the fatal mid-air collision in Washington, DC two weeks ago highlighted this. A Gol Boeing 737 Max collided with a ground vehicle while taking off from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Thankfully, the flight crew stopped the airliner before the end of the runway at Galeão International Airport, and no one was injured.
One passenger onboard the Brazilian airline’s flight recorded the aborted takeoff. The initial acceleration seemed normal until a loud thud was heard inside the cabin. Then, the thrust reversers were deployed to slow the plane’s takeoff roll. According to Simply Flying, the flight crew told air traffic control that a car was in the middle of the runway. It was later confirmed that the vehicle belonged to the airport.
Everyone onboard safely evacuated the damaged aircraft on the runway via airstairs, so it wasn’t an urgent enough emergency to necessitate the inflatable slide. Gol operated an additional flight to the airplane’s scheduled destination of Fortaleza Pinto Martins International Airport for the stranded passengers. The carrier noted that the incident didn’t impact any of its other flights.
A similar incident happened at Chicago O’Hare Airport last month. A United Airlines Boeing 737 Max hit a coyote while taking off on a flight to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. However, this plane lifted over the ground and flew for 40 minutes before returning to Chicago. The collision damaged the nose and landing gear. On-site engineers inspected the plane and cleared it to fly again just four hours later.
While a coyote can’t discern how dangerous an airport runway can be, whoever was behind the wheel of the airport car should be smart enough not to drive in front of an accelerating airliner.