Disaster was narrowly averted at Brussels Airport on Thursday, 5 February, after a passenger jet nearly took off from the wrong lane, causing the flight to abort and 165 passengers to be evacuated from the aircraft.
The incident took place at nearly 10 pm in the evening as an Airbus A320neo operated by Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) attempted departure from the Belgian capital on its way to Copenhagen, Denmark. Instead of pushing back from its gate and waiting to reach its assigned runway for takeoff, the aircraft began gathering speed for ascent while it was still on a taxiway.
A taxiway is a paved route at an airport where aircraft are supposed to travel at safe, slow speeds between aprons, hangars, runways, and terminals. Taxiways are not intended for aircraft travelling at take-off speeds, which can reach up to 280 km per hour. Travelling at that speed, the Scandinavian flight risked running out of tarmac or encountering a side road or an obstacle.
A Bruxelles-National, jeudi soir, un Airbus A320 de la @SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) a évité un crash de justesse pour avoir pris à tort une voie de circulation (juste utilisée pour déplacer des avions depuis le terminal) au lieu de la piste. L'avion a atteint une vitesse allant… pic.twitter.com/S4DTo6cRrz
— michel henrion (@michelhenrion) February 6, 2026
The “E1” taxiway taken by the plane crosses over runway 01, before merging into the straight path of adjoining F1 and V1 taxiways. Travelling on this stretch of tarmac, the plane hit a speed of nearly 200 km/h before slowing again to a standstill. It is unknown at the time of writing whether air traffic controllers or the crew themselves realised that they were not on the runway and halted the take-off procedure.
Runways are designated by white markings, whereas taxiways are distinguishable by their yellow centrelines and edges, and blue edge lights. It is not yet clear how or why the pilots took the wrong take-off path, but aviation expert Luc De Wilde, speaking to VRT News, described the incident as highly unusual, with initial indications suggesting pilot error was to blame.
Commentators have noted that the flight was already delayed when it pushed back from the gate, and the pilots may have been under time pressure to make their slot, which could cause them to attempt to take off by cutting in half way up the runway (a perfectly legitimate procedure), and to make a mistake. It appears the pilots made the wrong left-hand fork.
One passenger commenting on YouTube made clear how terrifying the moment was. “The plane had to do a sharp turn while still going very fast in order to avoid the obstacles ahead, and ended up in the grass and off the taxiway. It truly felt like we were going to flip over when the plane turned, given how fast we were still going,” said @laure189.
No passengers were reported to be injured but following the aborted take off the decision was taken to evacuate the flight, with the aircraft attended by emergency responders, police, and fire crews. The plane had come to a halt close to a series of fuel storage tanks. However, at that location, no stairs were available, so passengers underwent a delay of several hours before being able to be deplaned.
Since the flight was cancelled, passengers had to be accommodated and issued alternative travel arrangements the following day. Psychological support was also offered.
Some aircraft are fitted with Runway Awareness Advisory System (RAAS), a non-mandatory software that helps guide crew in these situations. SAS has confirmed that the Airbus in question was not equipped with RAAS.
