Video shows moment Qatar Airways flight aborts takeoff

Passengers watched the aborted takeoff from their in-flight entertainment screens. Photo / YouTube

Nerve-wracking footage has emerged showing a Qatar Airways flight abandoning its takeoff attempt as it sped along the runway at New York's JFK Airport.

The flight was supposed to celebrate the Airbus A350-900 XWB's first journey from the US but instead passengers and crew were left shaken and confused.

According to the Daily Mail the flight from New York to Doha was carrying just 36 passengers.

Video footage uploaded to YouTube by aviation journalist Zach Honig shows the reactions of those onboard as the plane comes to a screeching halt.

Passengers watched the incident from their seats as the forward-facing camera mounted on the plane's tail was played on their in-flight entertainment screens.

Mr Honig described the event on his website as a "terrifying" experience.

"For a plane of this size and weight, stopping that quickly required a lot of force. To give you another idea of how abruptly we stopped.... nearly all of the 200-plus pillows and blankets landed on the floor, having previously been neatly arranged on each seat in economy."

Mr Honig said the airline's chief operating officer told passengers the plane's computer system decided the 11,000ft runway was "too short" and applied the brakes at full force on its own.

Qatar's CCO just came by to update me. The A350 got a signal that the runway was too short and the plane auto-braked. #QR7452

— Zach Honig (@ZachHonig) December 11, 2015

No one was injured but passengers were left shaken by the experience.

Two hours later the plane took off on a different runway and made the 12-hour journey to Qatar without incident.

- nzherald.co.nz