Watch as Inaugural Airbus Flight 'Violently Aborts' Takeoff at JFK

Its inaugural takeoff was anything but glamorous.

The Qatar Airways charter flight, which was being celebrated as the first Airbus A350 takeoff from the U.S., came to a screeching halt at JFK airport as its sensors determined the runway was too short and applied the brakes automatically. The plane was carrying only 36 passengers when the takeoff was aborted Thursday night, according to the Daily Mail.

"About 18 seconds after we began rolling down JFK's runway 22R, the aircraft self-aborted, bringing us from more than 100 mph to a loud, screeching halt in roughly 15 seconds," Zach Honig, aviation reporter, wrote in his blog. "For a plane of this size and weight, stopping that quickly required a lot of force. To give you another idea of how abruptly we stopped ... nearly all of the 200-plus pillows and blankets landed on the floor, having previously been neatly arranged on each seat in economy."

Airbus A350 is displayed during the Dubai Airshow. (Photo by Victor Fraile / Power Sport Images)

Honig reported that several passengers and journalists were visibly shaken and asked to disembark the airplane. 

"Instead, Qatar’s Chief Commercial Officer, the highest ranking executive on the flight, came over to reassure us, explaining that an 'indicator' was responsible for the abrupt abort," he said. "As I understand it, for some reason the A350 decided that our 11,000-foot runway was too short to support the takeoff, and the plane applied the brakes at full force — all on its own."

Honigg and others were told that the plane was going to try another takeoff at a different runway. If that one didn't work, they were apparently told, then they would be able to disembark.

One hour and 40 minutes after the initial attempt, the plane successfully took off and completed its trip to Doha. Honig said that he and other passengers enjoyed a "well-deserved scotch."

Wow wow wow ... Our A350 violently aborted takeoff at JFK. Got the whole thing on video.

— Zach Honig (@ZachHonig) December 11, 2015

Everyone is okay. Just a bit shaken up. Crew told me to shut off my camera.

— Zach Honig (@ZachHonig) December 11, 2015

Okay breaking the silence. Captain came on to say they're restarting the engines and we'll take off from a different runway. #QR7452

— Zach Honig (@ZachHonig) December 11, 2015

Watch Honig's video of the harrowing aborted takeoff below.