SPANISH authorities are investigating why a Ryanair plane had to abort its take off from Alicante-Elche airport.
The incident involved a Boeing 737-800 aircraft on August 9 that was about to start its flight to Bergamo in Italy.
The plane had 191 passengers and six crew on board.
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The departure was halted at around 10pm by the pilots before the plane reached the speed limit threshold.
Spain’s Commission for the Investigation of Civil Aviation Accidents and Incidents (CIAIAC) has opened what it describes as a ‘technical investigation’.
Statements from the cockpit crew said that as the plane accelerated on the runway, they noticed an abnormal rigidity in the rudder pedals with resistance increasing as the craft sped up.
The pìlots said the problem meant it was difficult to keep the plane centred on the runway axis.
Before reaching the speed where a take-off could not be safely stopped, they took the decision to abandon the manoeuvre.
Braking was achieved as normal and the plane was able to taxi off the runway without help from rescue teams that are always on stand by.
There were no injuries to either the crew or passengers, with no structural damage sustained by the aircraft.
CIAIAC experts are analysing possible power control unit issues and mechanical linkages in the flight controls to pinpoint what happened.
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