diff --git a/static/js/reload.js b/static/js/reload.js
index ec18078737..8c7809d703 100644
--- a/static/js/reload.js
+++ b/static/js/reload.js
@@ -145,7 +145,12 @@ function cleanup_before_reload() {
         $('*').off();
 
         // Abort all pending ajax requests`
-        channel.abort_all();
+        try {
+            channel.abort_all();
+        } catch (ex) {
+            // This seems to throw exceptions for no apparent reason sometimes
+            blueslip.debug("Error aborting XHR requests on reload; ignoring");
+        }
 
         // Free all the DOM in the main_div
         $("#main_div").empty();