A BAW British Airways Boeing 777-200, registration G-VIIT performing flight BA-2279 from London Gatwick,EN (UK) to Vancouver,BC (Canada) with 334 passengers and 13 crew, was accelerating for takeoff from Gatwick's runway 26L when the crew rejected takeoff at high speed (about 140 knots over ground).
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The airport reported their only available runway needed to be closed for about 50 minutes due to the occurrence.
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On May 8th 2025 the AAIB released their final bulletin concluding the probable cause of the serious incident was:
By way of an action slip, the co-pilot began retarding the thrust levers at airspeed V1. He instinctively advanced them again, then initiated the RTO procedure around 2 KIAS later. The RTO was performed effectively and, in benign performance conditions, the aircraft stopped some distance before the end of the runway surface.
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The V1 callout was a normal prompt for the co-pilot to move his left hand during the takeoff roll, while preparing to pull back on the control column with his right hand. However, he unintentionally pulled his left hand back instead. The resulting ‘action sequence’ resembled the RTO or landing manoeuvres, rather than a normal takeoff. There was no obvious reason for him being primed to do that – for example, he had not recently changed aircraft seat or type, or practiced landings or RTOs in a simulator – and he could not identify a reason for it on the day.
Any decision to stop an aircraft should be made by V1, such that it is already stopping at V1. The co-pilot first retarded the thrust levers at V1. While the subsequent, instinctive, re-application of thrust would impede the aircraft’s stopping performance, after a moment’s conscious thought, he committed to the RTO procedure, fully retarding the thrust levers at around 2 KIAS above V1. The aircraft’s inertia meant its airspeed rose by another 5 KIAS before, in the somewhat benign performance conditions, it stopped some distance before the end of the runway surface. The crew performed the RTO and subsequent actions calmly and effectively.