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Old 11-09-2016 | 09:25 AM
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rhklenke
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Originally Posted by Vincent
I'm surprised the pilot stayed with it and just didn't abort and set her back down. I guess that is why they are test pilots wow
It looks like it came off the ground fairly suddenly and once it was off the ground, it was immediately apparent that it was off the ground, because of the gyrations. Once off the ground, it also quickly veered off of the runway heading. Given all of that, I'd bet that the pilot was not at all sure how well the aircraft could be set back down and what might happen, such as roll-over, cartwheel, etc., if it was. All of those options would have made ejecting a very risky or impossible situation, so the choice to get the airplane away from the ground and then reassess the decision as to whether to stick with it or leave was the best option. Hindsight seems to bear that out...

Bob