A Dassault Falcon 50 business jet ran off the runway during a rejected takeoff at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday 18 October, and came to rest against the airport perimeter fence. The airport says the aircraft left runway 1L "upon departure" at approximately 11 a.m. local time1. The Federal Aviation Administration told local station KTNV that the pilot aborted the takeoff and went off the runway, with eight people on board2. According to the airport, nobody was hurt13.

Open ADS-B data identifies the aircraft as the Falcon 50 registered N200SG4. The FAA registry lists it as a Falcon 50, serial number 239, with three Garrett TFE731 engines, registered to a company in Florida5. According to the FAA, it was bound for Toronto Pearson in Canada2. Earlier that morning it had flown in from Seattle4. Who operated the aircraft, and whether this was a private or a charter flight, has not been disclosed.

What the flight data shows

According to ADS-B data from adsb.lol, the takeoff roll began at 17:51 UTC (10:51 local time), a little over 300 m beyond the southern end of runway 1L4. FAA data gives the runway a length of 9,770 ft, about 2.98 km6. The jet accelerated to a groundspeed of about 125 kt. A few seconds later, with roughly 600 m of runway left by our calculation, the speed began to fall quickly4. The data shows no climb.

The positions show the aircraft close to the centreline until shortly before the northern end. In the last few hundred metres it turned right and left the runway around the northern end, still at about 65 kt groundspeed4. It came to a stop at 17:52 UTC, by our calculation about 200 m past the runway end and more than 350 m right of the extended centreline, in the area between the northern runway ends and the airport boundary4. ADS-B positions carry a margin of error, so these distances are approximate.

The weather observations from that morning show nothing unusual: dry, 22 degrees Celsius, visibility of more than 10 statute miles and a light north-northeasterly wind of 6 to 7 kt, almost straight down runway 1L7.

Impact on the airport

The airport closed both parallel north-south runways, 1L and 1R, for inspection1. The FAA issued a ground stop for flights to Las Vegas28. According to the FAA, departures bound for Harry Reid were delayed by an average of 70 minutes28. FOX5 and News 3 reported hundreds of delayed flights89. Later in the day the ground stop was lifted and both runways reopened after inspection8.

What is not known

Why the crew rejected the takeoff has not been disclosed. An airport spokesperson did not say what caused the aircraft to leave the runway3. Nor is it known at what speed the decision was taken, or how that speed related to V1 for this takeoff. ADS-B data shows only groundspeed, not airspeed or the calculated takeoff speeds. Whether the aircraft is damaged, how much damage the fence suffered and whether the NTSB will investigate have not been disclosed. Social media claims about the operator are not confirmed.

Rejected takeoffs: how often and why

According to the NLR Air Transport Safety Institute, a rejected takeoff (RTO) happens roughly once in every 1,800 takeoffs. About 56 percent of RTOs occur below 60 kt and almost 90 percent below 100 kt10. The rare high-speed rejects are the ones that go wrong. The NLR studied 135 high-speed RTO accidents and serious incidents: in 90 percent of them the aircraft could not be stopped on the runway. Between 1994 and 2008, 89 percent of those takeoffs were rejected after V1. In the NLR's view many of these rejects (44 percent) should not have been made, and 82 percent were not engine related10.

SKYbrary sums up the principle. Up to V1, an aircraft in Performance Category A should be able to stop safely. After V1 the takeoff is continued unless there is strong reason to believe the aircraft will not fly11. Many manufacturers specify 80 or 100 kt as the boundary between the low-speed and high-speed parts of the takeoff roll. Above it, the takeoff is normally only rejected for major malfunctions such as an engine failure or fire11.

Runway excursions

SKYbrary describes three types of runway excursion: a departing aircraft that fails to get airborne or to stop before the end of the runway, a landing aircraft that cannot stop in time, and an aircraft that leaves the side of the runway12. For takeoff, typical causes listed include a reject above V1, a weight too high for the conditions, wrong performance or trim data, runway conditions that differ from those reported, and system malfunctions such as a nosewheel steering or engine problem12. The cleared areas around and beyond a runway exist precisely to limit damage in a minor excursion, SKYbrary notes12. For another recent case of an aircraft ending up past a runway, see the light aircraft crash near Pattaya, Thailand.

Reporting under NTSB Part 830

In the United States, Part 830 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations sets out when the NTSB must be notified immediately13. That applies to an accident, meaning a death, a serious injury or "substantial damage" to the aircraft. Damage limited to landing gear, wheels, tyres, brakes, flaps or wingtips does not count as substantial damage13. There is also a list of serious incidents that require immediate notification, including damage to property other than the aircraft estimated to exceed 25,000 dollars13. After an accident the operator must file a written report within ten days, with a statement from each crew member13. Whether this event is classed as an accident or an incident depends on the damage, which has not been disclosed.

The aircraft: Falcon 50

The Falcon 50 is a three-engine business jet from the French manufacturer Dassault. The centre engine sits in the tail and is fed through an S-duct intake14. It first flew on 7 November 1976 and was built until 2008, in later years as the Falcon 50EX with newer TFE731 engines14. It is flown by two pilots and seats eight to nine passengers14. With serial number 239, N200SG is a standard Falcon 50 with a 1993 airworthiness date514. The FAA registry lists it in the Transport category5, which makes V1 and the accelerate-stop distance part of every takeoff calculation.