A potentially catastrophic midair incident was narrowly avoided on Friday after a Southwest Airlines jet was forced into sudden evasive maneuvers shortly after takeoff from Hollywood Burbank Airport near Los Angeles, United States.
Southwest Flight 1496, a Boeing 737 en route to Las Vegas, had only been airborne for less than six minutes when a privately operated Hawker Hunter fighter jet crossed dangerously close, less than two miles ahead and just a few hundred feet above in altitude, according to flight tracking data from Flightradar24.
“There was a small initial drop that I thought was just like really bad turbulence,” passenger Steve Ulasewicz told CNN. “And then after that, there was this long free fall.”
The unexpected motion inside the cabin triggered panic among passengers.
“I definitely thought that the plane was going down, that there was a mechanical issue with it,” Ulasewicz added. He said that chaos erupted onboard, with passengers screaming in fear. Pilots later informed passengers over the intercom that the aircraft had executed the maneuvers to avoid a midair collision.
Lynn Lunsford, a spokesman for Southwest Airlines, confirmed the incident in a statement, “The crew of Southwest Flight 1496 responded to two onboard traffic alerts Friday afternoon… requiring them to climb and descend to comply with the alerts. Southwest is engaged with the Federal Aviation Administration to further understand the circumstances.”
The Hawker Hunter was reportedly flying from El Paso, Texas, to Oxnard, California, at the time of the near-miss.
The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation to determine whether air traffic directives contributed to the proximity or if either aircraft deviated from its designated airspace.
During the evasive maneuvers, Flightradar24 showed the Southwest plane dropping roughly 475 feet before ascending about 600 feet within a minute.
Simultaneously, the fighter jet climbed approximately 100 feet in just seconds.
Although no passengers were injured, two flight attendants sustained injuries and are receiving medical care, the airline noted.
Despite the dramatic encounter, the commercial flight did not declare an emergency and proceeded to Las Vegas, arriving about nine minutes ahead of schedule after a total flight time of 39 minutes.
Most commercial aircraft, including the Southwest jet involved, are fitted with Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance Systems, a crucial onboard safety feature.
TCAS independently scans surrounding airspace using signals from aircraft transponders, instructing pilots when to climb or descend to maintain safe separation, even without input from ground controllers.
