UAV forces Czech airliner to abort takeoff

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), flying close to Prague’s Václav Havel International Airport, forced air traffic controllers to issue an “immediate stop” message to an airliner on its takeoff roll.

The incident, involving a Boeing 737-800 of Czech carrier Travel Service, occurred May 6. The aircraft was operating on behalf of SmartWings, Travel Service’s scheduled airline arm, on a flight to Dubai.

According to incident-recording website aeroinside.com, the flight had been cleared for takeoff from Prague’s runway 12 and was accelerating down the runway when the tower instructed the aircraft to abort takeoff.

The crew slowed the aircraft to taxiing speed about 840 m/2700 ft. down the runway.

An incoming service, a Bulgaria Air Embraer ERJ190, is also understood to have been told by the tower to go around when it was on final approach at 650 m/2000 ft.

Confirming the incident, a Travel Service spokeswoman said controllers had ordered the crew to abort their takeoff after a UAV was spotted beyond the end of the runway, in the path of the departing 737.

The incident is under investigation by authorities, she said.

Similar incidents are becoming increasingly common around European airports, with fears that the engine ingestion of a UAV at a critical moment on approach could result in a serious incident.