Southwest Airlines flight 3278 almost took off from a taxiway at Orlando International Airport at around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. The Boeing 737-800 was flagged down by air traffic control as it approached 70 knots according to ADS-B data before hitting the brakes.
According to the FAA, flight crew mistakenly began their takeoff roll on Taxiway H — parallel to Runway 17R — believing it to be the designated runway. The mistake was caught in time; controllers canceled the takeoff clearance mid-roll, and the Albany-bound flight safely returned to its gate.
Southwest says its flight crew mistook a taxiway for a nearby runway today in Orlando. An air traffic controller jumped in and canceled their takeoff clearance as they’d started speeding down a taxiway this morning around 930a. The taxi way runs parallel to the runway.… pic.twitter.com/r30BOhen6Q
— Ryan Sprouse (@RSprouseNews) March 20, 2025
According to the FAA, a Southwest 737-800 “began its takeoff roll on a taxiway” this morning in Orlando.
Ground speed ADS-B data shows the aircraft reaching a top speed of nearly 70 knots on Taxiway H. https://t.co/x1vNl0zCoc pic.twitter.com/7QHn6YQYOQ
— Ryan Ewing (@FlyingHighRyan) March 20, 2025
A Southwest flight aborted takeoff after the crew mistook the taxiway for the runway in Orlando, which run parallel to each other. It comes as investigators give a first look at what they say happened in the Toronto crash landing. @GioBenitez reports. https://t.co/ZKJzlPUCA7 pic.twitter.com/A9A8LU5vkx
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) March 21, 2025
Taxiways are designed solely for ground movement between gates, hangars, and runways, while runways are longer and meant for takeoffs and landings. Incidents like this one create risk of collision with another aircraft, or having insufficient surface length for take off.
Southwest just came out from under an FAA safety review, and this incident follows several such as a flight coming within 150 feet of Tampa Bay in July; another Southwest Airlines flight descending to just over 500 feet while still 9 miles out from the Oklahoma City airport and one taking off from a closed runway in June. In April, a Southwest Airlines flight in Hawaii came within 400 feet of the Pacific Ocean.