Boeing 747F of Air Atlanta Europe Attempts To Take Off From Taxiway

A Boeing 747-400F operated by Air Atlanta Europe Malta for Saudi Arabian Airlines attempted to take off from a taxiway at Riyadh on April 22, 2024, rather than the designated runway. Flight SV-953 was being flown by the aircraft (9H-AKF) from Riyadh to Nairobi.

Runway 33R was cleared for the aircraft to take off. The taxiway K, which runs parallel to the runway, is where the pilots attempted to take off, though.

When the takeoff was rejected, the pilots had already hit 110 knots and were still unaware of their error. The end of the taxiway was about 100 feet from where the airplane came to a stop.