Southwest flight out of Burbank rapidly descends shortly after takeoff to avoid mid-air collision
A Southwest flight out of Burbank, California, rapidly descended shortly after takeoff on Friday to avoid a mid-air collision.
The flight, bound for Las Vegas, plunged 475 feet from an altitude of 14,100 feet just six minutes after departing from Hollywood Burbank Airport, ABC News reported, citing data from Flightradar24, a flight tracking site.
The Federal Aviation Administration told The Independent in a statement: “Southwest Airlines Flight 1496 responded to an onboard alert that another aircraft was in the vicinity while in Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center airspace.”
It continued: “The FAA is investigating the event that occurred around 11 a.m. local time on Friday, July 25.”
Passenger Steve Ulasewicz told the outlet the rapid descent felt like a “significant drop,” and the pilot told passengers the maneuver was performed to “avoid a mid-air collision.”
ABC News identified the other plane as a Hawker Hunter, which it reports was flying at an altitude of 14,653 feet. The outlet reported, citing an unnamed source, there were several of these fighter jets in the area for a normal operation.
Another passenger on the Southwest flight told local ABC News affiliate KABC the plane had later landed safely in Vegas.
Southwest confirmed the plane “landed uneventfully.”
The budget airline said in a statement, it was “engaged with the Federal Aviation Administration to further understand the circumstances.”
Southwest said no customers immediately reported injuries, but two flight attendants were wounded and treated for their injuries.
“We appreciate the professionalism of our Flight Crew and Flight Attendants in responding to this event. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees,” the airline said.
