Passengers onboard a Boeing 737MAX-8 operated by Brazilian airline GOL Linhas Aereas miraculously escaped injury late on Tuesday night after the plane hit an airport vehicle that was “in the middle” of the runway as the plane was speeding along the tarmac for takeoff.
The incident at Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport led to a full-scale emergency response, but the passengers and crew were able to leave the plane via mobile airstairs rather than evacuating via emergency slides.
GOL flight G3-1674 to Fortaleza was due to takeoff at around 10:00 pm on February 11 but video taken by a passenger from inside the plane captured the moment that the plane appeared to hit something as it was accelerating along the runway.
In air traffic control recordings from the airport, the Captain tell the control tower: “We aborted the takeoff, we hit a car in the middle of the runway.”
In response, the controller, appearing confused, asked: “Confirm, was the car in the middle of the track or was it releasing in Charlie Charlie [a taxiway adjacent to the runway]?”
The pilot confirms that the vehicle was, indeed, on the runway at the time of impact.
Although the exact cause of the incident is yet to be established, it appears that the airport vehicle had been given clearance to cross the runway. For whatever reason, the vehicle had not cleared the runway as the Boeing 737 started its takeoff roll.
In November 2022, an Airbus A320neo aircraft operated by South American airline LATAM Peru was involved in a serious runway collision with a fire truck that had crossed onto the runway at the same time that the plane was accelerating for takeoff.
Tragically, two firefighters on the truck were killed.
The aircraft was severely damaged as it toppled onto its side and slid along the runway with one of its engines on fire. Remarkably, all of the passengers and crew from the plane were able to evacuate, with no serious injuries reported.
