A Gol Boeing 737 MAX 8 collided with a service vehicle during its takeoff roll at Rio’s airport Tuesday night. The aircraft, registration PS‑GPP, was operating as flight G3‑1674 from Rio de Janeiro to Fortaleza when when a loud bang was heard as the aircraft accelerated as it accelerated down the 13,000 foot runway 10.

The plane suddenly veered sharply right before realigning with the centerline. The jolt forced pilots to engage maximum braking, and the aircraft came to a stop just short of the runway’s end. Cockpit audio has the captain declaring, “We aborted the takeoff, we hit a car in the middle of the runway.”

#IncidenteAéreo de #Boeing737MAX8 (PS-GPP) de #GOLinhasAéreas. Impactó contra vehículo de mantenimiento en plena carrera de despegue, en el eje de la pista 10 en el Aeropuerto Internacional de #Galeão (GIG/SBGL), #Brasil . Evacuado sin heridos el avión y el vehículo. 11-02-25 pic.twitter.com/gvXymsgnGT

— Iván Castro Palacios (@ivancp25) February 12, 2025

A Gol Airlines Boeing 737 Max hit a maintenance vehicle on the runway during takeoff at Galeão Airport in Río de Janeiro, Brazil. #Brasil #avião #acidente

The flight to Fortaleza was aborted, and passengers were safely disembarked with no injuries reported. The airport… pic.twitter.com/i33L6Xjifs

— GeoTechWar (@geotechwar) February 12, 2025

It appears that the plane hit a maintenance or service vehicle which may have been given clearance to cross the runway but had not vacated the active runway in time for the aircraft’s takeoff roll. Air traffic control recordings captured a brief moment of confusion when controllers sought to clarify whether the vehicle was positioned on the centerline or on an adjacent taxiway.

Emergency response teams applied precautionary fire retardant. Runway 10 was briefly closed for an investigation, however airport operations were not significantly disrupted. All 167 passengers and crew members evacuated safely and no injuries were reported.