An Embraer ERJ-195 regional jet operated by Marathon Airlines on behalf of Air Serbia overran the runway at Belgrade International Airport as it was taking off on Sunday night, colliding with high-precision approach lights before continuing to takeoff.
The collision badly damaged the fuselage of the aircraft, as well as the vertical stabilizer, but the aircraft continued to fly for nearly an hour while the pilots burned off fuel before it could return to Belgrade Airport.
Miraculously, none of the passengers or crew were injured as a result of this terrifying accident, and the airline initially told passengers that the aircraft had to return to Belgrade due to a ‘minor incident’.
The accident involved a 16-year-old Embraer ERJ-195, which was due to operate Air Serbia flight JU324 to Dusseldorf. At around 5:39 pm, the aircraft lined up on runway 30L for departure.
Runway 30L is 11,483 feet long, but the pilots lined up at taxiway D5, midway along the runway, cutting the usable runway length to just 4,175 feet.
After using the entire length of the runway, the aircraft collided with high precision approach lights of runway 12R. It took another 1,650 feet for the aircraft to become airborne, where it slowly climbed just 50 feet, according to the Aviation Herald.
The aircraft then climbed to 4,000 feet, where it entered a holding pattern to burn off fuel before returning to Belgrade Airport, where it landed safely and the passengers were allowed to disembark.
Photos taken shortly after the plane landed show the extent of the extensive damage and how lucky the passengers were to have escaped unharmed.
The aircraft was operated by Greek charter carrier Marathon Airlines as part of a long-term lease deal with Air Serbia. It is understood that air traffic control asked the Marathon Airlines pilots twice about their intentions to takeoff midway along the runway and warned them of the usable runway length.
