aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

, a rejected takeoff (RTO) or aborted takeoff is the situation in which the pilot decides to abort the

takeoff Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff. For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a tr ...

of an

airplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...

after initiating the takeoff roll but before the airplane leaves the ground. Reasons to perform a rejected takeoff vary but are usually related to a suspected or actual problem with the aircraft, such as an engine failure; fire; incorrect configuration; aircraft control issue; unusually slow acceleration; automated warning signal(s) indicating a critical system failure; environmental conditions such as predictive windshear; or an instruction from

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

. There are three phases of a takeoff. In the low-speed regime, usually below 80 kts or so, the takeoff will be rejected even for minor failures. In the high-speed regime, above usually 80 kts but below V₁, minor problems are ignored, but the takeoff will still be rejected for serious problems, in particular for engine failures. The takeoff decision speed, known as V₁, is calculated before each flight for larger multi-engine airplanes. Below the decision speed, the airplane should be able to stop safely before the end of the

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

. Above the decision speed, the airplane may overshoot the runway if the takeoff is aborted, and, therefore, a rejected takeoff is normally not performed above this speed, unless there is reason to doubt the airplane's ability to fly. If a serious failure occurs or is suspected above V₁, but the airplane's ability to fly is not in doubt, the takeoff is continued despite the (suspected) failure, and the airplane will attempt to land again as soon as possible. If the airplane's ability to fly ''is'' in doubt (for instance, in the event of a major flight-control failure which leaves the airplane unable to rotate for liftoff), the best option may well be to reject the takeoff even if after V₁, accepting the likelihood of a runway overrun. Single-engine aircraft will reject any takeoff after an engine failure, regardless of speed, as there is no power available to continue the takeoff. Even if the airplane is already airborne, if sufficient runway remains, an attempt to land straight ahead on the runway may be made. This may also apply to some light twin-engine airplanes. Before the takeoff roll is started, the autobrake system of the aircraft, if available, is armed. The autobrake system will automatically apply maximum brakes if throttle is reduced to idle or reverse thrust during the takeoff roll once a preset speed has been reached.

Testing

An RTO is usually seen as one of the most challenging tests an airplane has to undergo for its certification trials. The RTO test is performed under the worst possible conditions; i.e. with fully worn out brakes, the plane loaded to maximum takeoff weight and no use of thrust reversers. During an RTO test most of the

kinetic energy In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the form of energy that it possesses due to its motion. In classical mechanics, the kinetic energy of a non-rotating object of mass ''m'' traveling at a speed ''v'' is \fracmv^2.Resnick, Rober ...

of the airplane is converted to heat by the brakes, which may cause the fusible plugs of the tires to melt, causing them to deflate. Small brake fires are acceptable, providing that in the first five minutes, they do not prejudice the safe and complete evacuation of the aircraft.14 CFR 25.735(g)
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Related accidents

* 2008 South Carolina Learjet 60 crash – an RTO above V₁, four fatalities * 1990 Wayne County Airport runway collision – RTO after collision following

runway incursion A runway incursion is an Aviation accidents and incidents, aviation incident involving improper positioning of vehicles or people on any runway, airport runway or its Critical_area_(aeronautics), protected area. When an incursion involves an '' ...

; aircraft struck destroyed with eight fatalities, aircraft that performed RTO damaged with no fatalities, later repaired and returned to service * Air France Flight 007 – RTO above V₁ after flight-control failure, 130 fatalities * American Airlines Flight 383 – uncontained engine failure and fire * Ameristar Charters Flight 9363 – RTO above V₁ after flight-control failure, aircraft written off but no fatalities * British Airtours Flight 28M – uncontained engine failure that damaged a fuel tank, resulting in a major fire and 55 fatalities * British Airways Flight 2276 – uncontained engine failure * Garuda Indonesia Flight 865 – RTO after engine failure, three fatalities * Korean Air Flight 2708 – uncontained engine failure, no fatalities, aircraft later repaired and returned to service * Overseas National Airways Flight 032 – uncontained engine failure attributed to bird ingestion, aircraft destroyed by fire but no fatalities * Spantax Flight 995 – an RTO above V₁, 50 fatalities * TWA Flight 843 – RTO after instrument failure, aircraft destroyed by fire but no fatalities

References

External links

Airliners.net – Photos detailing a RTO performed by a Lockheed Tristar at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

with good explanatory notes *
Boeing 747-8 rejected take-off test, 2011
{{Types of take-off and landing Emergency aircraft operations Types of take-off and landing Flight abort

Testing

Related accidents

See also

References

External links