A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 aborted its takeoff at Orlando International Airport last Thursday after mistakenly lining up on a taxiway instead of the runway.
The aircraft, registered as N8315C, was being prepared to operate domestic flight WN3278 to Albany Airport in upstate New York. As the crew was preparing for takeoff, neither of the pilots realized the aircraft was not actually on the runway, but on a taxiway instead. As a result, the takeoff procedure was initiated from the taxiway. It was quickly aborted. ‘An air traffic controller at Orlando International Airport canceled the takeoff clearance for Southwest Airlines Flight 3278 … after the aircraft began its takeoff roll on a taxiway’, according to a statement by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Southwest Airlines 737 nearly takes off from a taxiway at Orlando International Airport, the FAA have said.
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An air traffic controller noticed the issue and stopped the flight's departure. pic.twitter.com/iU0Gs8vX8b
According to a Southwest Airlines spokesperson, the pilots ‘mistook the surface for the nearby runway’, which is a recurring issue in aviation. No other aircraft were involved in the incident. The airline is cooperating with the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the ongoing investigation into the incident.
Following the aborted take-off, the 737 returned to the terminal. Passengers were transferred to a different aircraft with a new flight crew, although Southwest did not disclose the reason for the crew change. A Boeing 737 MAX 8, registered N8802Q, eventually departed at 1:20 PM local time—nearly four hours behind schedule. It landed in Albany with a delay of just over three hours.