Imagine you're driving at the maximum speed allowed on a major highway and you have to suddenly stop the car.
It's basically what Boeing test pilot Captain Kirk Vining had to do recently with the new 747-8 Freighter during one of the most dramatic airplane certification tests. However, instead of a 4,000-pound (1815 kilograms) car, the 747-8 weighed in at close to one million pounds.
In April, the Boeing Test & Evaluation team brought the 747-8 Freighter to a long runway in California to simulate the ultimate rejected takeoff (RTO). Crews loaded the airplane above its maximum takeoff weight of 975,000 pounds (443,181 kilograms) and installed a set of 100% worn-out brakes.
See more on this story and the video here