Mid Air Scare: Southwest Jet Plunges to Avoid Collision before Safe Landing in Las Vegas
Passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight endured a terrifying experience Friday when their plane took a sudden dive to avoid a potential collision with another aircraft, according to flight records and passenger accounts.
The Boeing 737, operating as Southwest Flight 1496, dropped several hundred feet in just over 30 seconds shortly after departing Hollywood Burbank Airport around noon. The plane was en route to Las Vegas, where it ultimately landed safely.
According to passenger Caitlin Burdi, the aircraft experienced an initial jolt before a more dramatic plunge, prompting panic in the cabin.
“We really thought we were plummeting to a plane crash,” she told Fox News Digital from Las Vegas. Burdi said the pilot later informed passengers they had narrowly avoided a midair collision.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the aircraft was responding to an onboard collision-avoidance alert, indicating the presence of another plane nearby. An investigation is underway.
Southwest Airlines said the crew responded to two alerts the first directing the pilot to climb, followed by a second requiring a descent.
Another passenger, comedian Stef Zamorano, described the chaos on board:
“A woman without a seatbelt flew up from her seat, and the man next to her grabbed her arm. A woman across the aisle was panicking, saying, ‘I want to get off this plane. I want to be on the ground.’”
Flight data from FlightAware shows the aircraft shared airspace near Burbank with a Hawker Hunter Mk. 58, a military-style jet owned by Hawker Hunter Aviation, a British defense contractor. The company did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Despite the midair scare, Southwest said the plane landed without incident in Las Vegas and that it is working with the FAA to determine exactly what happened.
