A Southwest flight took a dramatic plunge of nearly 500 feet to avoid a mid-air collision, injuring two crew members.
According to The Guardian, two Southwest flight attendants were injured on Friday, July 25, after an aircraft en route to Las Vegas from Hollywood Burbank Airport in Southern California took a sudden dive to avoid a mid-air close call.
As per the flight tracking website, Southwest Flight 1496 descended to nearly 500 feet to avoid collision with a Hawker Hunter jet owned by a foreign company.
The airlines stated that the Southwest Boeing 737 proceeded to Las Vegas and landed “uneventfully” and is now working with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) to “further understand the circumstances of the event.”
The FAA said, “We are aware of an incident involving Southwest Airlines flight 1496. The FAA is in contact with Southwest, and we are investigating. Ensuring the safety of everyone in the national airspace system remains our top priority.”
The airlines in a statement asserted that the flight responded to the onboard traffic alerts about the potential collision.
Youtuber and stand-up comedian Jimmy Dore, who was also on the flight, wrote on social media, “(I) Myself and plenty of people flew out of their seats and bumped heads on the ceiling; a flight attendant needed medical attention. The pilot said his collision warning went off and he needed to avoid the plane coming at us.”
The FAA has launched an investigation, but it is worth noting that it was the second such near-miss midair collision in the US in just a week.
