Taking off or landing from a taxiway risks catastrophic collision like what remains the deadliest accident in history.

Hurtling through the sky, with nothing below you, may feel like a dangerous place to be, but it’s not the riskiest part of the flight.

Taxiways are routes used by planes to move on the ground between gates, hangars and runways. Runways are the long, usually paved, areas of airports specifically meant for takeoffs and landings.

A Southwest Airlines flight almost took off from a taxiway -- rather than a runway -- at a central Florida airport on Thursday before an air traffic controller stopped the plane, officials said.

A Southwest Airlines flight aborted takeoff at Orlando ... Flight 3278 after the aircraft began its takeoff roll on a taxiway that runs parallel to the runway, the Federal Aviation Administration ...

OFFICIALS SAY A SOUTHWEST FLIGHT WAS ABOUT TO ... WELL, IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT A PILOT FOR A MAJOR AIRLINE COULD MISTAKE A RUNWAY FOR A TAXIWAY, BUT IT HAPPENED. AND IT HAPPENED RIGHT HERE ...

Southwest Airlines Flight 3278 was cleared to take ... The plane, however, started to accelerate on a parallel taxiway instead, prompting an air traffic controller to cancel the takeoff clearance.

Federal agencies are investigating after a Southwest Airlines jet nearly took off from a taxiway instead of a runway at Orlando International Airport.

On Thursday, a Southwest Airlines jet nearly took off from a taxiway instead of a runway at Orlando International Airport. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI ...

“Cancel takeoff clearance. You’re on H taxiway Southwest 3278.” “The crew mistook the surface for the nearby runway,” the airline said in a statement. “Southwest is engaged with the ...