Free Republic

A Southwest Airlines flight almost took off from a taxiway — rather than a runway — at a central Florida airport on Thursday before an air traffic controller stopped the plane, officials said. No injuries were reported, and passengers departing Orlando International Airport were accommodated on another aircraft heading to their destination of Albany, New York, the airline said in a statement. The aircraft was switched to help facilitate an investigation. Southwest Flight 3278 had been cleared for takeoff and initiated a takeoff roll on a taxiway after the crew mistook the surface for the nearby runway, officials said. But...

An Air Canada Airbus A320 attempting to land last month in San Francisco very narrowly avoided hitting several other taxiing airliners... As it approached San Francisco International Airport to land on July 7, Air Canada Flight 759 mistakenly lined up with a taxiway where four planes were waiting, instead of a runway. The captain of the Airbus A320 aborted the landing.... ... As Flight 759 passed over the first airliner, a United Airlines Boeing 787, the Air Canada crew aborted its landing. The crew commanded full power from the engines. At that point, it was just 85 feet above the...

SAN FRANCISCO — In what one aviation expert called a near-miss of what could have been the largest aviation disaster ever, an Air Canada pilot on Friday narrowly avoided a tragic mistake: landing on the San Francisco International Airport taxiway instead of the runway. Sitting on Taxiway C shortly before midnight were four airplanes full of passengers and fuel awaiting permission to take off, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating the “rare” incident. An air traffic controller sent the descending Air Canada Airbus 320 on a “go-around” — an unusual event where pilots must pull up and...

BASRAH – The 34th Infantry Division, United States Division - South, returned part of the Basrah International Airport taxiway to Iraqi control, Jan. 18, allowing large commercial airliners to use the airport in the future. The airport was first occupied by the British in 2003. Since then, large portions of the facility have been returned to Iraqi control, such as the airport hotel, which once housed the British headquarters. The Iraqi Air Force's 70th Squadron also calls a part of the airport property home. Contingency Operating Base Basrah, the main U.S. base in the area and headquarters for USD-S, occupies...