Flight Take-Off Aborted At Last Moment After Dog Enters Airport Runway

The pilot of an AirAsia India flight aborted the take-off at the last moment after a stray dog entered the runway just when the flight was readying to depart. The incident took place at Goa International Airport, India, on Sunday morning.

Officials said the AirAsia India Flight I5778 from Goa to New Delhi was scheduled to take off at 8.25 a.m. local time Sunday (10.55 p.m. EDT Saturday) but was delayed by almost an hour after a dog strayed into the runway.

"At about 8.25 hours today, when AirAsia flight 778 was rolling for take-off at Goa airport, alert ATC spotted a dog entering the runway and immediately informed pilot who aborted take off. The flight departed 9.15 hours after additional technical checks,” a spokesperson for the Indian Navy, which controls the operations at the airport, tweeted.

The airline too confirmed the incident, saying, "A stray dog was spotted on the runway and Goa Air Traffic Control cancelled the take-off clearance to the scheduled flight between Goa and New Delhi. The aircraft had just commenced its take-off roll.”

Meanwhile, the Indian Navy said it “has proactively taken steps to relocate dogs from the vicinity of runway. Under MOU of Indian Navy with the Department of Animal Husbandry, nearly 60 dogs have been relocated since mid-August."

The incident comes less than a month after the pilot of an Air India flight had to abort landing at the airport after spotting dogs on the runway.

Recalling the incident, Govind Gaonkar, a passenger had said, “Pilot aborted landing just as he was seconds away from touch down. He went full throttle and took off again only to land again after a turn round of 15 minutes all while passengers speculating the causes. Upon enquiring with the pilot he explained that there were 5 to 6 dogs on the runway. It was absolutely annoying. It was very dangerous and there could have been a plane crash.” Nobody was injured in the incident.