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| Date: | Monday 30 April 1984 |
| Time: | 13:10 LT |
| Type: |  Boeing 747-135 |
| Owner/operator: | Northwest Orient Airlines |
| Registration: | N621US |
| MSN: | 19919/81 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1970 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 179 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Category: | Incident |
| Location: | London-Gatwick Airport (LGW/EGKK) -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | London-Gatwick Airport (LGW/EGKK) |
| Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, MN (MSP/KMSP) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The flight was scheduled from Hamburg to Minneapolis (USA) via London Gatwick Airport and it arrived at Gatwick at 1150 hrs. Following a one hour turn round, at 1310 hrs it began its take-off roll on runway 08. The wind was 080° /10 kt with unlimited visibility and a temperature of 10° C.
During the roll another aircraft, positioned at runway access point Delta, (see Dia.) noticed N621
shedding rubber from the fuselage landing gear tyres and reported it to Air Traffic Control (ATC). ATC
relayed this to N621 and declared a 'ground incident', thereby activating the Airport Fire Service.
The aircraft had achieved an indicated speed of 110 kt when the commander, hearing the transmission by the other aircraft, abandoned the take-off, N621 slowed to taxying speed and turned off the runway at point Charlie, where a fire vehicle had just arrived in order to attend to a possible brake fire. There was considerable smoke from the hot brakes but no fire occurred.
It was the opinion of the aircraft commander that the position of the fire vehicle required him to stop
the aircraft before it was clear of the runway protected area. As a result of using the parking brake some of the heat-soaked brakes locked on. It was not possible to move the aircraft, and thus fully re-open the runway until 1530 hrs. During this period the passengers were taken by coach to the terminal building.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/542303f040f0b61342000b35/Boeing_747-135_N621US_08-84.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/8372693 (Photo)
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 03-Jun-2025 00:57 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 03-Jun-2025 00:58 | Justanormalperson | Updated [Accident report, ] |
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