E-Paper
Radar video shows moment Southwest flight avoided mid-air crash with Hawker Hunter- Watch
A Southwest flight plunged 475 feet after Burbank takeoff to avoid a mid-air crash with a military jet; video of the dive went viral on Flightradar24.
A Southwest Airlines flight descended 475 feet rapidly after taking off from Burbank Airport in LA County to avoid a mid-air crash with a Hawker Hunter military aircraft on Friday. A video of the Southwest Airlines flight on the aircraft tracking website Flightradar24 showed the moment the flight plunged to avoid the crash.
Here's the radar video of the Southwest flight 1496:
The flight took off from the Burbank Airport near Hollywood in Los Angeles County at noon on Friday. As per flight tracking data, the two flights came within less than two miles horizontally and a few hundred feet vertically, before the Southwest flight descended from 14,100 feet to 13,625 feet, within a span of a few seconds.
When the two aircraft came close to each other, an alert was set off by the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), which enabled the pilots on the Southwest Airlines flight to descend rapidly and avoid a collision.
Also read: Who is Estes Carter Thompson III? American Airlines flight attendant jailed for filming girls
The Los Angeles Times published an expert analysis on the incident, where they determined that if the pilots on the Southwest flight had not taken action, the two aircraft could have collided within 20 seconds.
"Southwest is engaged with the Federal Aviation Administration to further understand the circumstances," the airlines said in a statement. "No injuries were immediately reported by Customers, but two Flight Attendants are being treated for 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."
