Why flight A1 1717 used full runway length

Aircraft determine required runway length for takeoff by calculating the distance needed for the aircraft to reach the speed required to lift and then to accelerate to take off. Additional factors like weight, altitude, temperature, and runway conditions, and wind also impacts the requirement.

A Boeing 787-8 aircraft- the type that crashed on Thursday typically requires 2,538 metre of runway length, pilots said.

Data from Flight tracking website shows that AI171 departed using the full length of Runway 23 at Ahmedabad which is around 3,500 metre feet long. The aircraft backtracked to the end of the runway before accelerating.


Back tracking refers to an aircraft taxiing on a runway in the opposite direction of its intended take off and is commonly done when the plane needs to use the entire runway length for takeoff.

In hot air weather, like it was at Ahmedabad on Thursday (37 degree Celsius), there could be a requirement for more length as warmer air is less dense, resulting in reduced lift and thrust, requiring the aircraft to use the full runway length.