Moment terrified passengers scream as jet veers off runway in aborted take-off at Croatian airport

By PERKIN AMALARAJ, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 12:27, 18 May 2026 | Updated: 12:28, 18 May 2026 This is the moment terrified passengers screamed in terror as a jet veered off a runway in an aborted take-off from a Croatian airport.  Footage from inside a Croatia Airlines Airbus A220-300 that was taking off from Split Airport on Saturday showed flyers letting out blood-curdling screams as the plane swerved onto the grass surrounding the runway.  Heavy rain was seen zooming past the plane as it accelerated down the tarmac strip.  The plane was heard rattling as people feared for their lives inside.  As the plane cut across the grass, mud and dirt were thrown up onto the plane's white body, coating it in a brown film.  Video footage taken from the outside showed the plane unexpectedly swinging to the side right as it was about to take off.  The pilot appeared to have immediately decelerated as the near-accident happened.  There were 130 passengers onboard the plane, which was reportedly travelling to Frankfurt, Germany, as well as two pilots and three cabin crew members.  Video footage taken from the outside showed the plane unexpectedly swinging to the side right as it was about to take off Footage from inside a Croatia Airlines Airbus A220-300 that was taking off from Split Airport on Saturday showed flyers letting out blood-curdling screams No injuries were reported, and everyone was able to safely disembark.  Passengers were transferred to the terminal building, where assistance was provided to get them to their destinations.   Croatian authorities are now investigating the incident.  Danko Petrin, chief investigator of aircraft accidents at Croatia’s Air, Maritime and Railway Accident Investigation Agency (AIN), told local media: 'The investigation has only just started and extensive technical analyses are being carried out to determine the cause of the deviation during take-off. 'At this stage we do not know why the aircraft veered to the left. That will be established through the investigation.'  Investigators have retrieved the cockpit's voice recorder, and will also analyse data from the aircraft's blackbox, Petrin said: 'These analyses and procedures require time.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.