A Southwest Airlines jet heading to Las Vegas from Southern California experienced a dramatic plunge shortly after takeoff due to an alert about a nearby plane, resulting in injuries to two flight attendants and raising concerns among authorities and passengers.
Southwest Airlines flight 1496 was prompted to respond to an onboard alert regarding another aircraft in close proximity, as confirmed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) which is currently investigating the incident.
The flight crew had to deal with two air alerts that necessitated the pilot to first climb and then descend, according to a statement released by Southwest Airlines. The flight commenced from Hollywood Burbank Airport just before noon.
Passengers shared on social media the sudden significant drop the plane experienced shortly after takeoff. Data from the flight tracking site FlightAware indicates that the aircraft descended approximately 300 feet (91.44 meters) in a span of 36 seconds.
Comedian Jimmy Dore reported on X that the pilot mentioned his collision warning had alerted him to avoid an approaching plane.
At the same time near Burbank, the plane was in the same airspace as a Hawker Hunter Mk. 58 just after noon local time, based on FlightAware records. Notably, a Hawker Hunter is a British fighter plane owned by Hawker Hunter Aviation Ltd, a British defense contracting company; the company did not respond immediately to inquiries for comments.
Mike Christensen, an airport spokesperson for Hollywood Burbank, stated that neither the control tower nor the operations department, responsible for monitoring departing and incoming planes, have any records of the Southwest flight encountering such issues in their airspace.
Despite the incident, Southwest Airlines assured that the flight proceeded to Las Vegas and landed without any further complications. The airline added that it is collaborating with the FAA to gain a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding the event.
This near miss is the most recent incident to bring into question the safety of aviation, particularly following the midair collision in January over Washington, D.C., which resulted in the tragic loss of 67 lives.
