On Friday, July 25, a Southwest Airlines flight, which was headed to Las Vegas, took a sharp drop of 500 feet. According to a flight-tracking website, this is the second time in the week when a US commercial jet was forced to make this abrupt manoeuvre. This was done as reported by NDTV, to avoid a potential mid-collision.
Southwest Airlines Flight Drops 500 Feet
After a Southwest Airlines flight 1496 from Los Angeles to Las Vegas dropped 500 feet, two flight attendants were injured. This happened after an evasive action was taken to dodge another aircraft on takeoff. The flight departed from Burbank, California and abruptly manoeuvred to avoid any potential mid-air collision.
At this point, it’s worth mentioning that the pilot took this action after they received cockpit alerts for aircraft traffic being dangerously close. After this drop, the Boeing 737 continued with its onward journey, and the landing remained uneventful.
This Was Done To Avoid A Possible Collision
According to the report, it was mentioned that flightrader24 had identified Hawker Hunter fighter jet as the other aircraft that had crossed in front of the south-west flight. This is a British-built aircraft, and the plane came within 4.86 miles or 7.82 kilometres of each other laterally. Although the Federal Aviation Administration is still investigating, the US Air Force and Defence Department have not yet responded.
Although no other injuries, apart from 2 flight attendants, were reported, the sharp decline did stir panic onboard. But it must be said that the quick action by pilot saved lives!
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Not The Only Incident
This is not the only incident; just a week ago, a SkyWest Airlines jet that was operating as a Delta Connection flight had to take evasive action while operating from Minneapolis. This was done to avoid possible collision with US Air Force bomber during landing approach over North Dakota.
Although this step was taken for the safety of the people, it might have certainly created a panic situation aboard due to the sudden drop.
Cover Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons/Tomás Del Coro