Pilots of JAL flight 38 mistakenly tried to take off from a taxiway at Singapore's Changi Airport on 12th July, but were stopped just in time before a crash occurred. The pilots had apparently thought that they were on a runway.
The aircraft bound for Tokyo’s Haneda airport accelerated at takeoff speed for a few seconds in the early hours of the day, but stopped soon after receiving distressed calls to stop from Air Control.
The incident did not cause any injuries to the 208 passengers and crew members on board. There were no other aircraft on the taxiway at the time.
The 58-year-old captain and a 50-year-old copilot of the aircraft tried to cover up the mistake by not reporting the incident to JAL upon their return. The airline learned of it after a report was issued by Singapore authorities, JAL said.
JAL has suspended the two pilots from working aboard aircraft and is considering punishing them, the company said, adding that the pilots did not think the incident was something worth reporting.
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