An Embraer ERJ-195 aircraft has been severely damaged after overshooting the runway on takeoff at Belgrade airport in Serbia. The incident occurred on the 18th February 2024 at 17:38 local time (16:38 GMT).

Flight JU-324 was operating on behalf of Air Serbia, under an airline called Marathon Airlines and was scheduled to fly from Serbia to Dusseldorf, in Germany. The flight lined up for runway 30L at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, in Serbia, from taxiway D5, instead of the intended taxiway D6. Having joined from D5, this significantly reduced the available runway distance to around 1273m (5175ft), which was not enough to get the Embraer Jet into the air. Subsequently, the aircraft smashed into the high precision approach lights for the opposite runway, 12R. The flight became airborne 500m (1650ft) after the end of runway 30L, taking the incredible damage into the skies.

There was extensive damage to the left side of the fuselage, the left wing, fuel tanks and the left horizontal stabiliser. The flight crew immediately noticed the impact and declared a mayday, requesting an immediate return to Belgrade airport. The crew levelled the flight off at 4000ft AGL, circled to burn fuel and returned for a successful landing into runway 30L, approximately 55 minutes after takeoff. Fortunately, nobody was injured in this incident.

The passengers were quickly deboarded and authorities are now investigating the incident.