Delta Jet Misses Runway, Narrowly Averts Disaster

On Monday, a Delta jet flying into Atlanta mistakenly touched down on a taxiway instead of the runway it was cleared to land on, reported CNN today.

The aircraft was flying in from Rio de Janeiro just after 6am when it accidentally descended in an area designated for planes to wait until takeoff instead of landing on a parallel runway.

Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International is the world's busiest airport, but at the time the taxiway was empty. "Landing at about 160 mph, if the Boeing 767 had hit another plane, the results could have been catastrophic," reported local news station WSB-TV.

Normally, bright white lights mark the borders of runways, while blue lights dot taxiways. CNN wrote that the runway was illuminated, but "approach lights and ground-based instrument that helps pilots line up with the runway were off." At the time of the incident the weather was clear, the wind calm, and the sky dark.

The National Transportation Safety Board told CNN that a "check airman"—or company pilot who surveys cockpit procedures during significant flights—became ill while onboard, moving to the cabin. It is unclear whether or not his emergency was a distraction to pilots or if his absence otherwise contributed to the situation.

Medical emergency or not, Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson Kathleen Bergen told WSB-TV that "the pilot still is required to follow all proper procedures and land on the runway." Details on the happenings in the cabin have not yet been released.

"Taxiway landing is not appropriate, so we will be investigating it very thoroughly in determining why that happened," Bergen said.

CNN reported that the Boeing 767 had 182 passengers and 11 crew members on board at the time of the mishap. Anthony Black, a spokesman from Delta, told CNN that the pilots of the flight have been suspended from active flying.