As reported by The Aviation Herald, a recent aborted takeoff incident at Zurich Airport is being investigated…
In this post:
Edelweiss A320 aborts takeoff at high speed
This incident happened on October 27, 2023, and involved Edelweiss Air flight 298 from Zurich, Switzerland (ZRH), to Faro, Portugal (FAO). The flight was operated by a 24-year-old Airbus A320 with the registration code HB-IHY. For those not familiar, Edelweiss Air is a subsidiary of SWISS, and is a predominantly leisure airline.
The aircraft began its takeoff on runway 32 at Zurich Airport, when the crew rejected the takeoff at a speed of around 140 knots, which is very close to the plane’s takeoff speed. As you’ll see in the video, the takeoff roll looks stable at first, but then the plane violently jolts to the left as if it’s going off the runway, before correcting course.
The airline states that during acceleration, the aircraft showed abnormal behavior, prompting the pilots to reject takeoff. Then during deceleration, a tire burst. An investigation is now being performed to determine the cause of this.
The aircraft managed to successfully slow down and vacate the runway, and then taxied to a remote stand. When you abort a takeoff at such a high speed, there’s a risk of fire, so emergency services quickly arrived at the aircraft. Everyone managed to get off the aircraft safely, and passengers were rebooked on another flight. This aircraft hasn’t flown since the incident.
Below you can see a video of the takeoff roll.
What went wrong with this takeoff?
An investigation will no doubt reveal what caused this incident. However, looking at the video, a few things are clear. There’s a crosswind during the takeoff roll, and you can see that there are right rudder inputs during the early portion of the acceleration, to keep the plane on the centerline (for those not familiar with the rudder, it’s the back portion of the tail, and it’s the vertical area that can move left or right).
It’s common to use the rudder to keep the plane on the centerline during takeoff and counteract any crosswinds. What’s very strange is how at the 13 second mark in the above video, there’s a strong left rudder input, which seems to be what sends the plane way off the centerline.
The real question is what caused that, and how it relates to the burst tire:
- Did one of the pilots provide an incorrect rudder input, or was there some other glitch that caused that? Given the crosswind, this definitely wasn’t a situation where a strong left rudder input should have been provided
- Did the tire burst because of such a strong rudder input at a high speed, or did the burst tire somehow lead to the rudder input?
Fortunately this incident ended okay, as it could have ended much worse (both in terms of aircraft damage and potential injuries) if the plane had actually veered off the runway at such a high speed.
Bottom line
An Edelweiss Airbus A320 nearly veered off the runway during an aborted takeoff at Zurich Airport. Based on the video, it would appear that there was a crosswind during the takeoff roll, and then for whatever reason, there was an incorrect rudder input. Around the same time, a tire burst. The incident is now being investigated, so I’m curious to see what’s determined.
What do you make of this “exciting” takeoff roll?
This looks very similar to an incident that happened in Denver several years ago because the pilot applied brakes as he applied corrective rudder inputs. The brake input caused an initial swerve and the correction the other way caused another swerve because of the brake application. It’s a known problem if the pilot has their feet up on the pedals rather than heels down.
Headline is wrong. The aborted takeoff came as a result of whatever happened to cause the aircraft to veer/swerve like that. The "nearly veering off the runway" came before the aborted takeoff, not during.
If you're going to post content designed to scare people about safety, at least be accurate.
This article isn't meant to scare people, it's meant to get you to click on it.
In your case, success!
24 years old is extremely old for a plane - even just 20 years ago you'd see airlines run their planes for 15-20 years maximum before retirement for safety reasons. Wonder if this could be part of the cause?
This is incorrect, especially with newer aircraft that are far more reliable then old ones. A commercial plane doesn't really start getting old now a days until it's about 30, and that's still a teenager for a piston plane. This A320 is merely wise and experienced, far from old.
I genuinely don't mean to be rude but how is this relevant to the OMAAT audience? I get an RSS feed on OMAAT, lots of great content across a normal week but notice an increasing amount (similar to the points guy etc) of just content for the sake of creating content. People sign up for travel deals, reviews and actionable info. The CEO of an airline quitting, an obscure airline aborting a takeoff - not...
I genuinely don't mean to be rude but how is this relevant to the OMAAT audience? I get an RSS feed on OMAAT, lots of great content across a normal week but notice an increasing amount (similar to the points guy etc) of just content for the sake of creating content. People sign up for travel deals, reviews and actionable info. The CEO of an airline quitting, an obscure airline aborting a takeoff - not so much. Is there a way to differentiate the type of content? (Again, not trying to be rude and I know nothing about SEO etc but with 'signal to noise' ratio of travel sites dropping off I'm just offering my 2 cents to focus on quality instead of quantity)
Mick - the ramifications of a 'CEO of airline quitting' can be massive on the end passengers. Evidently you're referring to Al Baker's resignation - you don't see the potential impact of this?
I agree with your statement, I just disagree with it's importance as something that I/anyone need to know. I'm sure a new CEO will make decisions that impact travellers, but a new CEO in itself is just information that is not actionable - what is anyone meant to do with this information? I'm travelling on 4 Qatar flight in Jan > March, and still is pointless information. (again not meant to sound harsh) If 'New...
I agree with your statement, I just disagree with it's importance as something that I/anyone need to know. I'm sure a new CEO will make decisions that impact travellers, but a new CEO in itself is just information that is not actionable - what is anyone meant to do with this information? I'm travelling on 4 Qatar flight in Jan > March, and still is pointless information. (again not meant to sound harsh) If 'New CEO cuts route or does X' then I would agree with you it could be relevant to people.
@ mick -- I appreciate you reading, and your feedback. To answer your question, I write about this kind of stuff because I'm an aviation geek, and I find the industry interesting. For as long as this site has been around, I've been writing about non-miles & points things that I find interesting when they relate to aviation.
While I understand that doesn't appeal to everyone, I have just as many readers who visit OMAAT...
@ mick -- I appreciate you reading, and your feedback. To answer your question, I write about this kind of stuff because I'm an aviation geek, and I find the industry interesting. For as long as this site has been around, I've been writing about non-miles & points things that I find interesting when they relate to aviation.
While I understand that doesn't appeal to everyone, I have just as many readers who visit OMAAT for general aviation news, as I have people visiting specifically for deals.
I can tell you one thing for sure -- I don't write these kinds of stories for SEO, I write them because of my own interesting in them. I assume there aren't many people searching online about planes veering off runways, so that would be a very bad SEO strategy.
As far as filtering content goes, as the top you'll see that all posts go into either the news, insights, deals, or reviews category. I think perhaps filtering to deals and reviews would be most useful, if it's deals and flight reviews you're looking for?
Appreciate your feedback, and hope that at least sheds some light on my strategy.
As a long-time reader (and infrequent commenter), this type of content is exactly what I come here for, as well as the other stuff too. Just because the name is "One Mile at a Time" doesn't mean it has to be only about miles/points. I don't treat this as a "points blog." Instead, I treat it as a place to get a wide variety of aviation related content. It's actually nice because it's a one-stop...
As a long-time reader (and infrequent commenter), this type of content is exactly what I come here for, as well as the other stuff too. Just because the name is "One Mile at a Time" doesn't mean it has to be only about miles/points. I don't treat this as a "points blog." Instead, I treat it as a place to get a wide variety of aviation related content. It's actually nice because it's a one-stop site for me to get an update on a ton of different subjects in aviation.
In short: keep it up! :)
Mick - you clearly have something that interests you about this website, points and deals. I am most into this website for reviews and articles like this. Different articles get different traffic. if this doesn't interest you, don't read it. I'm glad Ben posted it because I found it very interesting.
Since you don't seem aware on your own, do be informed that YOU (whoever you are) do not speak for "the OMAAT audience."
Many of us appreciate the variety.
I have been an OMAAT reader for many years and I find these 'av-geek' stories the most interesting ones. I live in Australia and like all overseas readers, the articles about US credit cards and US-based points schemes have no interest for me at all (of course). The point is that there are many different reasons for reading OMAAT and the mixture is surely part of its charm.