Air France Flight 855 Rejected Takeoff at Lagos

Incident Overview On 11 January 2010, Air France Flight 855, a Boeing 777-300ER registered F-GSQI, was operating a scheduled international passenger service from Lagos, Nigeria, to Paris Charles de Gaulle. The aircraft was part of a rotation that had begun in Paris on 9 January and included a stop at Port Harcourt. The flight carried 2 crew members, 14 cabin crew, and 218 passengers. ## Takeoff Sequence The crew landed at Lagos at 21:00 UTC on runway 18R and completed a 1.5-hour turnaround. The captain, who was the pilot flying, requested runway 36L to reduce flight time despite a longer taxi. At 23:00:48 UTC, the captain began the pre-takeoff briefing, announcing V1 138 kt, Vr 151 kt, and V2 157 kt. The crew received takeoff clearance at 23:03:11 UTC while still on the taxiway, approximately 1,300 meters from the runway hold point. ## Autothrottle Issue At 23:05:24 UTC, the captain pressed the TO/GA switches, but the autothrottle did not engage. The captain stated he had not performed a takeoff without the autothrottle and was disturbed by its absence. He briefly released the thrust levers to arm the autothrottle via the Mode Control Panel. The autopilot was also engaged, which the flight manual states should not be done below 200 feet after takeoff. ## Rejected Takeoff At 23:05:58 UTC, the copilot called “rotation,” and the aircraft had traveled approximately 1,500 meters. Two seconds later, the captain announced “abort takeoff” at a recorded calibrated airspeed of 155 kt. The maximum speed reached was 164 kt. The captain explained he made the decision after feeling a blockage in the elevator control during rotation. ## Aftermath The aircraft’s automatic braking system activated, and it stopped approximately 900 meters from the end of the runway at 23:06:30 UTC. A brake temperature alert appeared at 23:07:54 UTC. Fire services followed the aircraft and watered the brakes. Wheel 3 deflated at 23:12:40 UTC, followed by wheels 1, 2, 6, and 4 within the next five minutes. The aircraft reached its parking stand at 23:15:45 UTC. ## Damage and Investigation The incident resulted in damaged wheels and brakes. The BEA report, published in November 2010, concluded that the investigation was conducted to prevent future accidents, not to assign fault or responsibility.