Simon Lowe, the popular aviation videographer known for catching the famous ThomsonFly 757 bird strike video was in the right place at the right time again on Monday to catch a great display of airmanship and professionalism.
Thomas Cook flight 314 from Manchester to the Dominican Republic, operated on an Airbus A330-200 (registered G-OMYT) was proceeding well on its departure roll when it experienced a failure of its right engine. According to AvHerald, the aircraft was going approximately 110 knots when flames can be seen in the engine at the moment of failure (video below).
The aircraft had not yet reached its committed-to-takeoff speed, known as V1 or “decision speed”, and had enough room to come to a stop. Also visible is the pilots’ application of rudder to correct for the sudden loss of thrust from the right side of the aircraft. The aircraft came to a safe stop on runway 23R, allowing emergency personnel to examine the aircraft for signs of fire, and escort the aircraft to assist in cooling their brakes, as such a hard stop of an aircraft at takeoff weight can easily cause tire failure/fire.
The video shows exactly what is supposed to happen in these circumstances, for which flight crews train relentlessly. For more on the subject, read our article “Losing an Engine on Takeoff: Abort or Floor It?”.
None of the 325 people on board were injured, and the flight continued several hours later on a replacement aircraft.
In an effort to decrease productivity, we highly suggest you browse around Simon Lowe’s YouTube Channel for the next week or two.
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