This is a very embarrassing situation, but it was resolved.
Turkish Airlines tried to take off from a taxiway
The Aviation Herald reports on how a Turkish Airlines plane tried to take off from Newark Airport's taxiway. Fortunately, air traffic controllers saw the situation and rejected the attempt.
The incident occurred on Turkish Airlines flight TK30 between Newark (EWR), and Istanbul (IST). It was scheduled to depart late on August 6th, 2021. However, it took off just after midnight on August 7. The registration code TC-JNI was used for the Airbus A330-300, which is approximately ten years old.
Pilots were cleared to takeoff from runway 22R. However, they instead taxied onto taxiway PP, which is parallel to runway 22, and attempted to take off. Air traffic controllers saw the pilots accelerate the aircraft and cancelled takeoff clearance.
Before the error was discovered, the plane reached speeds of 90 knots (104 mph) and continued on. Before it reached a normal taxiing speed, the plane traveled nearly a mile along the taxiway.
The plane was then transferred to a holding pen so that the brakes could cool off for approximately 45 minutes. This is because the brakes overheated due to the high speed rejection takeoff. The plane was parked for the duration of the emergency vehicles remained close to it. About an hour later, the A330 took off from runway 22,R. It landed in Istanbul 1hr40min late.
According to passengers onboard, the pilot claimed that the pilot rejected the takeoff because of a mechanical problem. It's fair enough. However, some passengers may not have found it comforting to be told why the takeoff was aborted.
Listen to the audio of air traffic control and get a visualisation of the situation:
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Although rare, it is not uncommon.
Commercial aviation is extremely safe. However, we all know that there are many bad situations that can be avoided.
Pilots who take off from a taxiway instead of a runway are making a huge mistake.
It is possible for other planes to be on the taxiway. This could cause a disaster.
Taxiway and runway lights have different intensity and colors, so it is important to avoid making this mistake.
Although it is not common for commercial aircraft to attempt to land or take off from a taxiway, incidents like this do occur every once in a while. An Air Canada A320 almost landed on a taxiway in SFO in 2017. The plane was only 50 feet from touching down at SFO. There were four other planes on the taxiway: two 787s and an A340. Talk about a narrowly escaped catastrophe.
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Bottom line
Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 flying between Newark and Istanbul almost took off from a taxiway parallel to the runway. The plane was flying at more than 100 mph when air traffic controllers noticed the error and rejected the takeoff. After cooling down for 45 minutes, the plane took off successfully from the runway.
