WASHINGTON: A Southwest Airways flight aborted takeoff at Orlando Airport on Thursday (Mar 20) after it mistakenly started to depart on a taxiway relatively than the runway, the newest in a sequence of latest incidents which have raised issues about United States aviation security.
An air site visitors controller on the Florida airport cancelled the takeoff clearance for Southwest Flight 3278 at round 9.30am (9.30pm, Singapore time) after the plane started its takeoff roll on a taxiway that runs parallel to the runway, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated.
Taxiways are paths utilized by pilots to maneuver the plane between the terminal and the runway.
Southwest stated the Boeing 737-800 stopped safely on the taxiway, returned to the gate and no accidents have been reported. The Nationwide Transportation Security Board and FAA each stated they’re investigating the incident.
Southwest stated it’s engaged with the FAA to know the circumstances of the occasion and accommodated prospects on one other plane to their vacation spot.
The FAA in December accomplished a security overview of Southwest after a sequence of incidents, together with a flight in July that flew at a really low altitude over Tampa Bay and one final April that got here inside about 122m of the ocean off Hawaii.
On Wednesday, the FAA stated it will set up enhanced security expertise at 74 airports by the top of 2026 to assist detect runway incursions.
