A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 flew less than 500 feet to a residential neighborhood after taking a sudden dive mid-flight.
The plane’s low altitude triggered warnings from air traffic controllers and alarming residents, who thought the plane was about to crash.
The incident adds to a long list of Boeing incidents this year.
Just last month, another Southwest 737 experienced what’s known as a “Dutch roll” – an dangerous in-flight aerodynamic oscillation that led to damage to the aircraft, The New York Times reported.
The latest incident occurred shortly after midnight on Wednesday, when Southwest Airlines flight 4069 was landing in Oklahoma City.
When the plane 737 reached a minimum altitude of below 500 feet, it set off altitude alerts with the air traffic control tower.
Southwest Airlines 737-800 descends to 400 feet 9 miles from landing at Oklahoma City Will Rogers World Airport, triggering a low altitude alert from Air Traffic Control. pic.twitter.com/o8le1d8cLh
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) June 20, 2024
“Southwest 4069, low altitude alert. You good out there?” the air traffic controller said, according to an archived version of the ATC audio from the site LiveATC.net.
“After receiving the low altitude alert, flight records show the plane quickly gained altitude, climbing from around 450 feet above ground when it crossed over the northern edge of Yukon High School’s property, to more than 1,000 feet above ground by the time it crossed the southern edge of the school’s property,” KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City reported.
“Southwest is following its robust Safety Management System and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to understand and address any irregularities with the aircraft’s approach to the airport,” a spokesperson for the airline said.
“Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees.”
The low altitude of the plane had residents taking to social media to express their concerns.
“It woke me up and I thought it was gonna hit my house,” one wrote.
“Thought I was having cool dreams about airplanes other night but actually had a 737 buzz my house,” another wrote.
Here is a 3D version of what the missed approach would have looked like:
Wednesday morning (6/19) just after midnight, Southwest 4069 triggered a low altitude alert at Will Rogers Tower as it approached RW13.
— Dale Denwalt (@denwalt) June 20, 2024
The 737 descended to less than 500 above ground directly over Yukon. pic.twitter.com/5dbyMXQ98F
Just last week, we reported another Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, which suffered a mid-air emergency after it plunged to just 400 feet of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
Southwest Flight 2786 from Honolulu International Airport to Lihue Airport in Kauai dropped from nearly 16,000 feet to an altitude of 409 feet, according to a Southwest Airlines memo to pilots.
The incident occurred after the plane aborted landing attempt due to bad weather, preventing pilots from seeing the runway at the specified altitude.
The memo noted that the pilot opted to put the “newer” first officer in command of the 100-mile interisland flight despite the pending weather.
🚨🚨🚨Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 flight SQ321 from London to Singapore dropped about 6000 feet due to an air pocket & severe turbulence. 1 Passenger has died and over 30 injured #SingaporeAirlines #Boeing pic.twitter.com/zwSFfnERaX
— Rosy (@rose_k01) May 21, 2024
READ: United Airbus A320 Catches Fire Just Days after Boeing Mid-Air Emergency
