SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The pilot of an Air Canada plane carrying 140 passengers made a last-minute maneuver to avoid landing on a San Francisco International Airport taxiway where four passenger jets were lined up to take off.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it is investigating why the pilot mistakenly lined up to land on the taxiway instead of the runway just to the left. An air traffic controller ordered the Airbus 320 to abort and circle for another landing, which it did without incident.
Aviation-safety consultant Todd Curtis called the incident “definitely a serious event since a landing on an active taxiway could lead to a catastrophic accident.”
In audio posted on liveatc.net, which records flight communications, the pilot on the plane from Toronto and the air traffic controller sounded calm as the incident unfolded.
At first, the pilot said he sees “some lights on the runway,” apparently alluding to planes on the taxiway, the aviation equivalent of feeder roads that planes use to roll between runways and terminals.