ETIHAD: Aborts takeoff at Melbourne Airport. Tyres explode.
On Sunday 5 January 2025, Etihad Airways flight EY461 was taking off from Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport. It was heading for Abu Dhabi as its destination when the takeoff was aborted.
The incident occurred at around 7 p.m. Pilots slammed on the brakes of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner late in the takeoff process. Airport fire trucks responded. They doused the aircraft’s landing gear in fire retardant foam, as can be seen in the Reddit post below.
Content of this Post:
Emergency stop of Etihad flight
According to a statement from Melbourne Airport, the flight ‘rejected take-off’. That’s PR speak for ‘slammed on the brakes’, or ’emergency stop’.
Update on Etihad Airways flight EY461:> the pilot rejected take off yesterday evening when departing for Abu Dhabi. All 289 passengers safely disembarked the aircraft and were bussed to the terminal. The Etihad aircraft has been safely towed from the runway, inspections have been completed and the runway reopened for operations this morning.
Melbourne Airport on X, formerly Twitter
Importantly, 289 passengers safely left the aircraft. However, an hour or two after the incident, they were brought to the terminal by bus.
The crew did not explain the technical or other cause of the aborted takeoff to passengers on the aircraft. Etihad is yet to make a statement.
Airport disruption
Because of the blown tyres, the aircraft could not be towed from the runway on Sunday evening. That resulted in the north-south runway being closed for several hours. Airport operations were disrupted, although capacity was maintained.
Removing the plane was left until Monday morning when the runway was reopened.
![Etihad Business Class on the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner [Etiahd]](https://www.2paxfly.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/etihad-b787-business-3.jpg)
2PAXfly Takeout
Aborted takeoffs are not that unusual. I suffered one on a Qantas A330 on a flight out of Melbourne heading for Singapore back in 2024. An indicator light came on, showing an issue with an engine function. The pilot dismissed it as a faulty sensor, but with a six-hour delay and a new aircraft, it must have been something a little more serious.
Late-stage aborted takeoffs, when there is barely enough runway to come to a stop, require a much harder deployment of the brakes, which can lead to a tyre blowout. After such an incident, in addition to replacing the tyres, additional checks of the landing gear integrity need to be completed, which can further delay an aircraft returning to the air.
What did you say?