By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Southwest Airways flight aborted takeoff at Orlando airport on Thursday after it mistakenly started to depart on a taxiway quite than the runway, the most recent in a sequence of latest incidents which have raised considerations about U.S. aviation security.
An air site visitors controller on the Florida airport canceled the takeoff clearance for Southwest Flight 3278 at round 9:30 a.m. ET (1330 GMT) after the plane started its takeoff roll on a taxiway that runs parallel to the runway, the Federal Aviation Administration mentioned.
Taxiways are paths utilized by pilots to maneuver the plane between the terminal and the runway.
Southwest mentioned the Boeing 737-800 stopped safely on the taxiway, returned to the gate and no accidents had been reported. The Nationwide Transportation Security Board and FAA each mentioned they’re investigating the incident.
Southwest mentioned it’s engaged with the FAA to know the circumstances of the occasion and accommodated clients 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 400 ft (122 m) of the ocean off Hawaii.
On Wednesday, the FAA mentioned it might set up enhanced security know-how at 74 airports by the tip of 2026 to assist detect runway incursions.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy mentioned on Wednesday that he plans to announce within the subsequent few days a plan to overtake the U.S. air site visitors management system to switch getting older applied sciences.
A deadly Military helicopter and American Airways regional jet collision on Jan. 29 that killed 67 individuals close to Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport rekindled considerations about U.S. aviation security.
The FAA mentioned in October that it was opening an audit into runway incursion dangers on the 45 busiest U.S. airports.
During the last two years, there have been a sequence of troubling near-miss incidents which have highlighted the pressure on understaffed air site visitors management operations.
A persistent scarcity of controllers has delayed flights and, at many amenities, controllers are working obligatory time beyond regulation and six-day weeks to cowl shifts.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Enhancing by Chris Reese, Cynthia Osterman and Jamie Freed)
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