On a flight from Pittsburgh to Dallas years ago our pilot headed back to the gate. He informed us that there was construction at the end of the runway and we were too heavy to take off in the room remaining, so they were going to remove some fuel.
In one of Ernest Gann’s books, he tells how he nearly crashed a B-17 into the Taj Mahal. It was supposed to be a short flight, but the plane’s tanks had been filled completely by mistake. Gann got off the runway, heading straight for the Taj Mahal, when he realized the plane was too heavy, and wasn’t going to climb fast enough to clear. He used full flaps at the right moment and got just enough altitude, then very nearly crashed on the other side, but didn’t.