Summary
- Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET715 veered off the runway during takeoff in snowy conditions.
- Braking action on the runway was possibly poor, reducing aircraft control during an aborted takeoff.
- No crew or passengers were injured, and the aircraft had no damage, but the flight was canceled, and passengers experienced delays.
Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET715 offers direct service from Norway to Sweden. Earlier today, the flight, operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, was attempting to take off during snowy conditions brought on by winter storm Pia, which is affecting Europe with gusty winds and heavy blowing snow.
The Boeing 787-8 (Registration: ET-ATH) was cleared for takeoff at Oslo-Gardermoen Airport (OSL) using runway 01L. According to the Aviation Herald, immediately after it began its takeoff run at about 20:20L (14:20 EST), the aircraft veered off the right side of the runway.
The aircraft traveled 630 ft (190 m) from the beginning of the runway and 90 ft (27 m) to the right and became immobilized in the snow. The conditions during the takeoff run were as follows:
- Wind: 010 (direct headwind) at 18 knots.
- Visibility: 3.3 km (2 mi)
- Precipitation: Light snow
- Obscuration: Mist
- Clouds: Few clouds at 1600 ft and a ceiling of 2500 ft
According to the METAR, conditions don’t appear to be adverse. However, a common complaint among pilots flying into OSL is that the METAR doesn’t state braking action. It is possible the crew wasn’t aware of the poor braking action on the runway caused by the snow accumulation.
Aftermath
The Norwegian publication VG reported that Catherine Fram, Press Officer for OSL, confirmed no crew or passengers were injured and that the aircraft had taken no damage. She stressed that service would continue as planned shortly after the aircraft was towed out.
However, the press officer had no information to provide two hours later, and it was unclear if the aircraft had been towed. Ethiopian Airlines canceled the flight to Stockholm and the following flight from Stockholm to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Jens Schreuder, a passenger onboard flight ET715, said the cabin remained calm during the incident. He provided an update at 21:15 that the aircraft was still stuck and that the airline assured passengers would be able to board the aircraft again.
However, passengers weren’t allowed to enter the terminal and spent an extended period in buses. At 21:35, Schreuder provided a final update and said they’d been allowed into the terminal.