by Donald Wood
Last updated: 3:58 PM ET, Tue July 11, 2017
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an incident in which an Air Canada flight approaching San Francisco almost landed on a crowded taxiway.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, Air Canada Flight 759 was approaching San Francisco International Airport after a flight from Toronto when air traffic control cleared the plane to land on Runway 28R at 11:56 p.m. local time.
Instead of approaching the approved runway, the pilot accidentally began flying toward a parallel taxiway that had four other aircraft waiting to take off. Each of the planes waiting on the taxiway was filled with passengers and fully fueled.
"Air Canada flight AC759 from Toronto was preparing to land at San Francisco airport Friday night when the aircraft initiated a go-around," an Air Canada spokesperson said in a statement. "The aircraft landed normally without incident. We are still investigating the circumstances and therefore have no additional information to offer."
[READMORE]READ MORE: Air Canada Named Best Airline in North America by Skytrax World Airline Awards[/READMORE]
Audio recordings from the incident revealed the pilot saw lights on the taxiway and asked air traffic control if he was still cleared to land. When the pilot was told the runway was clear, a third party saw the plane heading toward the taxiway and called for the aircraft to abandon the landing and initiate a go-around.
Both the FAA and Air Canada officials are investigating the incident.
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