Air traffic authority in Orlando halts Southwest Airlines pilots as they inadvertently prepare for takeoff on a taxiway.
Air Traffic Incidents: A Rough Week for Aviation
Things went awry in the skies this week, as a Boeing 737 belonging to Southwest Airlines nearly took off from a taxiway at Orlando International Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced they're investigating the incident, a mishap that seems to be part of a larger trend in recent weeks.
On Thursday, Southwest Airlines Flight 3278 was given clearance for takeoff on a runway, bound for Albany, New York. However, the aircraft began gathering speed on a parallel taxiway instead, prompting an air traffic controller to halt the takeoff. Taxiways are meant for planes to travel between gates and runways, but not for takeoffs or landings.
The mix-up was due to the crew misidentifying the surface for the nearby runway. Southwest Airlines confirmed they're working with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and FAA to understand the circumstances that led to the event. Fortunately, the plane came to a safe stop, no other aircraft were involved, and the passengers were later flown to Albany on a different plane.
This incident follows a series of close calls, crash landings, and accidents, including the fatal collision of an American Airlines plane and a U.S. Army helicopter in Washington, D.C. Last week, the NTSB released a report on the February 6th crash of a Bering Air regional flight in Alaska, which tragically claimed the lives of all 10 passengers onboard. The plane was found to be overweight before takeoff.
On Thursday, Canada's Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report on a February 17th incident that saw a Delta Air Lines regional jet flipping over as it landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Despite being left "hanging like bats," all 80 passengers and crew members on board managed to survive.
Remembering February 25th, Southwest Flight 2504, en route from Omaha, nearly had a fateful encounter at Chicago Midway Airport's runway 31C. A private Bombardier Challenger 350 jet crossed the runway in front of it, prompting the Southwest pilots to perform a go-around to avoid collision. The pilots of the private jet reportedly believed they were in the right place and crossing a different runway at the time of the incident, according to a preliminary report by the NTSB. At their closest point, the two planes' GPS antennas were roughly 200 feet apart.
It seems the skies have been busier than usual with close calls in recent weeks, demonstrating the importance of vigilance and careful navigation in air travel. Let's hope for safer skies ahead!
Insights:- Southwest Airlines has experienced multiple close calls in recent weeks, including a nearly disastrous near-collision at Chicago Midway Airport.- The FAA is investigating a Southwest Airlines incident in which a aircraft almost took off from a taxiway instead of a runway at Orlando International Airport.- Other airlines have also been affected by incidents, such as the fatal collision of an American Airlines plane and a military helicopter in Washington, D.C. and the flip of a Delta Air Lines regional jet during landing in Toronto.
- On Wednesday, the close call at Orlando International Airport involving Southwest Airlines Flight 3278, which was given clearance to take off but started moving on a parallel taxiway instead, prompted investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
- The Southwest Airlines incident, where the aircraft came to a safe stop, no other aircraft were involved, and the passengers were later flown to Albany on a different plane, is just one of the multiple close calls the airline has experienced in recent weeks, following the near-collision at Chicago Midway Airport.
- Despite the incident with Delta Air Lines regional jet that flipped over during landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport last month, all 80 passengers and crew members managed to survive, demonstrating the importance of vigilance and careful navigation in air travel, as the skies have been busier than usual with close calls in recent weeks.
