WASHINGTON: A Southwest Airlines flight aborted takeoff at Orlando Airport on Thursday (Mar 20) after it mistakenly began to depart on a taxiway rather than the runway, the latest in a series of recent incidents that have raised concerns about United States aviation safety.
An air traffic controller at the Florida airport cancelled the takeoff clearance for Southwest Flight 3278 at around 9.30am (9.30pm, Singapore time) after the aircraft began its takeoff roll on a taxiway that runs parallel to the runway, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
Taxiways are paths used by pilots to move the aircraft between the terminal and the runway.
Southwest said the Boeing 737-800 stopped safely on the taxiway, returned to the gate and no injuries were reported. The National Transportation Safety Board and FAA both said they are investigating the incident.
Southwest said it is engaged with the FAA to understand the circumstances of the event and accommodated customers on another aircraft to their destination.
The FAA in December completed a safety review of Southwest after a series of incidents, including a flight in July that flew at a very low altitude over Tampa Bay and one last April that came within about 122m of the ocean off Hawaii.
On Wednesday, the FAA said it would install enhanced safety technology at 74 airports by the end of 2026 to help detect runway incursions.
