Southwest jet nearly collides with private plane on Chicago runway
A Southwest Airlines flight was forced to perform a go-around maneuver while coming in for a landing at Chicago Midway International Airport when a private jet began taxiing across the plane’s path on the runway Tuesday morning.
Video from the airport shows the Southwest aircraft nearly touching down on the runway when it suddenly pulls back up to fly over the smaller Flexjet aircraft that entered its path on the runway.
Southwest Flight 2504 from Omaha, Nebraska, landed safely, having performed the precautionary maneuver to avoid “a possible conflict” with the other aircraft that entered the runway, Southwest said in a statement to Fox News.
“The crew followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident,” a Southwest spokesperson told Fox News in a statement. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees.”
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The Southwest flight crew performed a go-around maneuver to avoid a possible incident with a private jet that crossed its path on the runway at Chicago Midway International Airport on Tuesday morning. (StreamTime Live)
A spokesperson for the airport told Fox News that they wouldn’t call the incident a “near collision.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a preliminary statement that the “business jet entered the runway without authorization.” The agency, as well as the National Transportation Safety Board, said they are investigating the incident.
“We are aware of the occurrence today in Chicago,” a Flexjet spokesperson said in a statement. “Flexjet adheres to the highest safety standards and we are conducting a thorough investigation. Any action to rectify and ensure the highest safety standards will be taken.”
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will handle the investigation into the near-collision.
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“NTSB is investigating Tuesday’s runway incursion that occurred when a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 initiated a go-around after a business jet entered the same runway at Chicago Midway International Airport,” the NTSB said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy weighed in on the incident on X, writing in part: “…it is imperative pilots follow the instructions of air traffic controllers. If they do not, their licenses will be pulled.”
The near-collision is the latest in a concerning trend of recent air travel incidents in the U.S.
Earlier Tuesday, a United Airlines flight carrying nearly 200 passengers was forced to make an emergency landing at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey after a “possible mechanical issue” mid-flight, the airline said.
A Delta Air Lines flight was forced to return to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday morning after a “haze” filled the cabin, according to the airline. Passengers evacuated the aircraft upon landing safely, and no injuries were reported.
Earlier this month, a Delta Air Lines flight burst into flames and flipped upside down while landing at Canada’s Toronto Pearson Airport. Everyone on board survived the ordeal, though injuries were reported.
Several deadly incidents have also occurred in recent weeks.
Last week, two small planes collided midair at a regional airport in Arizona, killing two people.
An American Airlines plane collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, killing 67 people last month.
Less than 48 hours later, a medical ambulance flight crashed in Philadelphia, leaving seven people dead.
