Southwest Flight Abruptly Drops Nearly 500 Feet to Avoid ‘Midair Collision’
Two flight attendants were treated for injuries after “pandemonium” on board.
MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS
A Southwest flight dropped 475 feet to avoid a “midair collision” with a Hawker Hunter aircraft.
Southwest flight 1496 took off from Hollywood Burbank Airport just before noon Friday, headed an hour east to Las Vegas. But about six minutes after departure, it rapidly descended from 14,100 feet to 13,625 feet, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24.
Passenger Steve Ulasewicz told ABC News that the pilot later announced the maneuver was necessary to “avoid a midair collision.” Ulasewicz further described the ordeal to NBC 4 Los Angeles: “The plane was just in a free fall. People were screaming. It was pandemonium.”
The Hawker Hunter fighter jet that the Southwest plane avoid was one of several in the area, a source told ABC News.
Erik de Castro/REUTERS
The Hawker Hunter craft was at about 14,653 feet when the commercial airliner began its descent, according to Flightradar24. A source told ABC there were several other Hawker Hunter planes in the vicinity as part of a normal operation.
Two flight attendants were injured in the process, Southwest said in a statement.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
The airline added that it is communicating with the Federal Aviation Administration “to further understand the circumstances” of the near-collision.
The FAA said in a statement Friday night: “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. The FAA is investigating the event that occurred around 11 a.m. local time on Friday, July 25.”
The Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to a comment request from the Daily Beast.
The Southwest flight landed in Las Vegas at 12:45 p.m. local time.
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.