A kite tangled to a wing appears to be reason enough to abort take-off, as illustrated in this video taken from a Garuda Indonesia flight.
TikTok user Ricky Suherndar (@rickysuhe) yesterday posted this video taken on board Garuda flight GA 114 from Jakarta to Medan.
@rickysuhe Garuda GA 114 Jakarta – Palembang 15 Juni 2023
♬ original sound – Ricky Suhendar
Ricky detailed in the video that he spotted the kite while the plane was taxiing for take-off. He claims to have alerted a flight attendant, who, to his surprise, went to the back of the cabin and did not seem to have alerted the flight’s pilots.
Ricky then spotted a man outside, who may or may not have been an airport employee, signaling to the plane’s cockpit that there was a problem with the plane.
The plane then returned to the terminal to rectify the issue. The flight eventually departed at 5:55pm, which was a little later than its scheduled take-off time of 4:15pm.
Though kites may seem harmless for the engineering marvel that is modern day passenger jets, there are actually safeguards against potential harm from them in aviation regulations.
Flying kites or doing any activities in flight operation areas that could potentially endanger aviation safety is prohibited under Indonesia’s Aviation Law. Violation of the law is punishable by up to three years in prison or an IDR1 billion (US$67,493) fine.
In 2020, Garuda revealed that it spent US$4,000 for repairs to kite-related plane damages. Between May and July of that year, the flag carrier reported seven flight disruptions caused by flights. Also during this period, there were 59 kite-related incidents experienced by all airlines at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
