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Originally Posted by MusketeerMan  41 seconds after starting to speed down the runway?? Um, I don't fly it, but are there any jets that are going to be accelerating for 41 seconds down a runway and still be on the ground. ! |
Absolutely. Especially at high density altitude airports. That's why places like Denver have 14,000 foot runways. It takes a LONG time to get a jet up to speed, especially if its heavy and the weather is hot. Now, granted, this was a winter accident, but look at what your dealing with.
As another poster pointed out, you've got 8 to 10 seconds intials spool up time. Technically, you've started the takeoff roll at that point. So that leaves 31 seconds before the Captain decided to abort.
Now, if there was a wheel issue, that may have slowed the acceleration even more. Most training departments now teach that even with a tire blowout near V1 you should continue the takeoff because high speed aborts are generally unsuccessful, especially with failed tires.
Now, if the airplane drifted into the runway edge lights, the same holds true. Unless you're going off the runway, you're probably better to continue the takeoff than try to abort at that point. You'll probably be unsuccessful, if past incidents are the yardstick.
One thing about accidents, we can all learn about flying from them. I encourage everyone to read the final accident investigation reports when they are published. They're public info and availible on the NTSB website. You can learn a LOT from other guys' mistakes.