A Southwest Airlines flight was forced to cancel its takeoff at Orlando Airport on March 20 after pilots mistakenly began departing on a taxiway instead of the runway.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said an air traffic controller voided Southwest Flight 3278’s takeoff clearance at roughly 9:30 a.m. ET after the jet started its takeoff roll on a taxiway parallel to the runway. Pilots use taxiways to transport aircraft from airport terminals to runways.
The Boeing 737-800 stopped safely on the taxiway before returning to the gate, Southwest said. There were no injuries reported and the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) both said they are investigating the incident.
Southwest added that it is working with the FAA to determine how the event occurred and to provide customers with another flight to their destination.
In December 2024, the FAA completed a safety review of Southwest Airlines it had opened in July of that year following a string of incidents that led to investigations.
That review “did not identify any significant safety issues,” the agency said at the time.
Southwest responded that it appreciated the chance to engage with the FAA “as part of our mutual dedication to safety.”
Several of the incidents that spurred the review included a flight in July 2024 that flew at a significantly low altitude over Tampa Bay and another, months prior, that came within roughly 400 feet of the ocean near Hawaii.
The FAA said on March 19 that it would install enhanced safety technology at 74 airports nationwide by the end of next year to help detect runway incursions.
That same day, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that he would announce plans in the coming days to overhaul America’s air traffic control systems to replace its antiquated technology.
Last October, the FAA said it was opening an audit into risks of runway incursions at the nation’s 45 busiest airports.
Multiple near collisions on runways have occurred over the last two years, emphasizing how overtaxed air traffic control operations remain amid ongoing staffing shortages.
Those shortages have led to flight delays and some controllers working overtime and six-day weeks to fulfill empty shifts.
The incident on March 20 is the latest in a string of aviation accidents this year following the deadly midair collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet near Washington in late January.
