Canadian investigators have detailed an incident in which an Air Canada Boeing 777-300ER aborted take-off at 110kt after its crew saw that a preceding Embraer 190 had aborted its own take-off roll on the same runway.
The 777 had been cleared to line up on Toronto’s runway 06L immediately after the Air Canada E190 had been cleared for a 06L take-off to Denver.
Some 35s later the tower controller cleared the 777 for take-off, directing the crew to “maintain visual separation”.
But as soon as the clearance was transmitted the E190 crew informed that they were rejecting their take-off at the D3 exit, about two-thirds of the way down the 2,955m runway.
Transportation Safety Board of Canada says the E190 had sustained a bird-strike at around 135kt, prompting the crew to initiate a high-speed abort.
The 777, having been issued the take-off clearance, had reached a maximum speed of 110kt before its crew – having observed that the E190 was still on the runway – aborted their own departure, says the board.
Both aircraft vacated the runway, the E190 returning to the terminal and the 777 parking on a taxiway for 45min to allow its brakes to cool before also returning to the terminal.
Neither aircraft suffered damage during the 7 March incident, and none of the occupants – 359 on the 777 (C-FJZS) and 87 on the E190 (C-FMZW) – was injured.
