ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A Southwest Airways flight virtually took off from a taxiway — slightly than a runway — at a central Florida airport on Thursday earlier than an air visitors controller stopped the airplane, officers mentioned.
No accidents have been reported, and passengers departing Orlando Worldwide Airport have been accommodated on one other plane heading to their vacation spot of Albany, New York, the airline mentioned in a press release. The plane was switched to assist facilitate an investigation.
Southwest Flight 3278 had been cleared for takeoff and initiated a takeoff roll on a taxiway after the crew mistook the floor for the close by runway, officers mentioned. However air visitors controllers canceled the clearance earlier than the airplane may take off.
Taxiways are routes utilized by planes to maneuver on the bottom between gates, hangars and runways. Runways are the lengthy, often paved, areas of airports particularly meant for takeoffs and landings.
Southwest is working with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Nationwide Transportation Security Board.
“Nothing is extra necessary to Southwest than the Security of our Clients and Staff,” the airline mentioned in a press release.
