On Thursday evening, a DHL A300 freighter aborted takeoff at high speed. This resulted in several burst tires and a blocked runway at Brussels Airport well into the small hours of the morning. The cause of the rejected takeoff is still unknown.

Tires burst from the heat

On Thursday evening, a DHL Airbus A300-600 aborted takeoff at high speed at Brussels Airport. Firefighters rushed to the scene of runway 25R, where they hosed down the landing gear. The aircraft's tires had burst from the heat generated by excessive braking, but otherwise there seems to have been no damage to either crew or plane.

The aircraft remained on the runway until 04:00 local time. According to aviation24.be, all other traffic was redirected to runway 25L for landings and runway 19 for takeoffs.

Why the A300's pilots chose to abort the takeoff is still unknown. However, a takeoff is usually only aborted at high speed in the case of a severe malfunction. Several of the A300's tires became so hot from the friction that they burst or deflated during the incident. This can be seen below in a short video that appeared on social media.

Aircraft had been busy the past week

The DHL freighter, D-AEAI, operated by European Air Transport (EAT), was heading to Vitoria, Spain, one day after arriving in Brussels from East Midlands Airport. Over the past week, it had operated no less than 12 flights. These had taken it all over Europe to places like Helsinki, Vienna, Lisbon, Madrid, and EAT's home airport of Leipzig.

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Both Airbus and Boeing have received unfair subsidies from their various Governments. Photo: Brussels Airport Company

High speed increases the risk associated with rejection

Aircraft manufacturers specify a specific velocity that signifies the transition between low and high speed. Beyond this point, the takeoff would only be rejected for major malfunctions such as engine failure or fire. It is unclear at precisely what speed the pilots made the decision to abort in this particular incident.

The "commit to fly" speed is known as V1. Above V1, the takeoff must continue unless there is reason to believe that the aircraft will not fly. While it is possible to reject takeoff after this point, the risks involved, of course, increase along with speed.

DHL rejected take off
The plane in question has been flying cargo for DHL since 2013. Photo: Alan Wilson via Wikimedia Commons

Twenty-eight-year-old reconfigured jet

The aircraft in question is a 28-year old Airbus A300-600. It began life as a passenger long-haul jet for the limited international network of Japan's third-largest carrier, Japan Air Systems, in 1992. After the airline failed, the jet remained in Japan under the livery of Japan Airlines. The plane then arrived with DHL in 2013 following three years of storage and subsequent reconfiguration for cargo-only operations.

Simple Flying has reached out to Brussels Airport for more information on the incident but was yet to receive a response at the time of publication.

Have you ever experienced or witnessed a rejected take-off? Tell us about it in the comments.