An investigation is underway at San Francisco Airport after an Air Canada flight almost landed on a crowded taxiway.
Flight AC759 from Toronto was cleared to land on a runway but the pilot ‘inadvertently’ lined up for a taxiway where four aircraft loaded with passengers were waiting to take off.
An air traffic controller became aware of the problem and ordered the pilot of the Airbus 320 to pull up and make another approach.
The FAA said the incident, which happened last Friday, was ‘very rare’.
Air Canada, which says 135 passengers and five crew members were aboard the flight, is also investigating what happened.
An audio recording has emerged of what is believed to be the communication between the air traffic controllers and pilots at the time of the incident.
In it, a male voice – thought to be the pilot – is heard saying there are lights on the runway.
One of the air traffic controllers replies that there are no other planes there but then another voice is heard saying: "Where’s this guy going? He’s on the taxiway."
The air traffic controller then orders the pilot to pull up and make another approach, after which a pilot from one of the planes on the ground is then heard saying: "United One, Air Canada flew directly over us."
Retired United Airlines Capt Ross Aimer, CEO of Aero Consulting Experts, told the San Francisco newspaper, Mercury News, it could have been the worst ever airline disaster.
The deadliest incident in aviation history was in 1977, when 583 people were killed after KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736 collided on a runway at Los Rodeos airport in northern Tenerife.
