Not to mention any names (to protect the innocent
), but I remember several years back, one of the low-cost carriers (who bragged about short turn-arounds), ran off the end of the runway after a rejected takeoff. This was with one of the old 737-200s, as I remember.
During the latter stages of the takeoff roll, just before V1, they hit a flock of birds. One engine coughed, the other quit. The crew performed the rejected takeoff maneuver flawlessly (as per FAA and NTSB conclusion), but the aircraft ran off the end of the runway at a relatively slow speed, anyway.
Seems the brakes were hot at the start of the takeoff roll. (NTSB analysis) Nobody ever (at this outfit) seemed to give a ^%& about landing, standing on the brakes to make the first turnoff (ostensibly to save time), doing a quick turn, then blasting off again...only to repeat the above at the next stop...maybe an hour away. Leg after leg after leg...as the day wore on, the brakes became hotter and hotter. (No significant cooling occurs with the wheels in the well, as we all know.)
So, many of the comments to this thread are quite appropriate. It could have been an MEL (e.g. brake deactivated), or it could have been a captain exercising his command authority to follow good judgement and operating practice.
PantLoad