Air traffic control at Orlando International Airport has cancelled the takeoff clearance of Southwest Air Operated Boeing 737, which began takeoff rolls on taxiways running parallel to the runway.
The Federal Aviation Administration says it is investigating an incident that occurred at 9:30 local time on March 20th. It specifies that no other aircraft is involved.
Southwest says Flight 3278 has been “safely stopped” on the taxiway “after crews mistaken the surface for a nearby runway.”
With no injuries during the incident, the Southwest urged passengers to move to another aircraft for transport to New York's Albany International Airport.
Southwest is “engaged” with the FAA and the US National Transportation Safety Board “to understand the situation at the event.”
This week, NTSB released a preliminary report on another incident at Chicago Midway International Airport. There, before the final approach crossed the Southwest 737 route, the FlexJet Business Jet pilots did not recognize the runway as different from the taxiway.
In that case, 737 pilots carried out a go-around and landed without further incident.
