Southwest Airlines Flight Avoids Midair Collision By Dropping Several Hundred Feet: All You Need To Know Now

Sunday, July 27, 2025

The bearer was Southwest Airlines Flight 1496, which had conscionable took disconnected from Hollywood Burbank Airport connected Friday. The formation was headed for Las Vegas, and nan level had to descend astir 500 feet to debar a midair crash. The abrupt dive occurred erstwhile nan craft was conscionable six minutes into its travel pursuing postulation alerts from nan Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) which reported different craft successful nan vicinity.

The incident of this near-collision took spot while nan craft was successful nan Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center airspace. Southwest Flight 1496, a Boeing 737, was reacting to an on-board alert that different level successful nan vicinity posed a threat of collision. The formation had only precocious climbed to 14,100 feet when, successful a matter of seconds, it dropped backmost down to 13,600 feet aft nan informing went disconnected successful nan cockpit.

The pitchy was trying to debar a retired Hawker Hunter Mk. 58 while en way to Point Mugu Naval Air Station, Ventura County, California. Data from nan formation search work Flightradar24 indicates that some craft were successful nan aforesaid airspace, wrong adjacent range.

Experience of Passenger: “Aggressive Dive” Prevented Crash

Comedian Jimmy Dore posted connected societal media astir his acquisition aboard Southwest Sprint 1496. He said nan acquisition was a terrifying, nose-dive plunge that near galore passengers shaken. Dore said she saw group “flying retired of their seats” and that immoderate group had deed their heads connected nan ceiling. Amid each of nan commotion, nan formation was safely landed, and smoothed its measurement backmost into Sin City without further incident.

A Southwest Airlines spokeswoman said successful a connection that location were nary reports of superior injuries among nan passengers. One formation attendant was treated for insignificant injuries and different was taken to a infirmary for further evaluation. The formation still proceeded to Las Vegas, wherever it landed without issue.

FAA Involvement successful nan Incident and Subsequent Investigation

The FAA is investigating nan incident successful which nan near-miss occurred to found nan origin and to gauge nan guidance from some Southwest pilots arsenic good arsenic air-traffic controllers. The agency has not released nan specifications of what aerial postulation controllers mightiness person told nan Southwest pilots astir an craft successful nan vicinity, indicating that it is still unclear whether thing much could person been done to debar nan encounter.

As nan FAA reports are ongoing, officials person not disclosed further accusation regarding nan afloat grade of nan incident and imaginable consequences. The agency’s investigation will astir apt beryllium centered connected whether aerial postulation power procedures were decently followed, and whether a reappraisal is successful bid of really midair postulation risks are controlled.

Past Midair Collision Raises Concerns

The adjacent telephone betwixt planes is nan 2nd awesome aviation incident this year. A Southwest Airlines near-miss has occurred conscionable months aft different infamous formation incident that went viral. On March 1, 2025, a Black Hawk Army chopper fought pinch an American Airlines location jets adjacent Washington, D.C., 67 were killed. The incident exposed superior information deficiencies wrong nan aviation assemblage — particularly erstwhile it comes to aerial postulation power staffing shortages.

After nan Black Hawk crash, nan FAA came nether occurrence for its nonaccomplishment to lick nan years-long shortage of aerial postulation controllers, exacerbated by staffing cutbacks nether Trump. Those cuts raised questions astir nan sufficiency of aerial postulation power procedures, particularly successful heavy trafficked airspace, specified arsenic Los Angeles.

FAA’s Response and Safety Measures

The FAA has besides taken steps to heighten aerial postulation information since nan incidents, including hiring much aerial postulation controllers and different captious positions. The training of information inspectors, mechanics and different aviation manufacture labor besides has been a privilege for nan agency to guarantee nan golden modular is maintained.

FAA spokesperson Steve Kulm said nan agency has kept successful spot captious aerial safety-related unit contempt anterior layoffs. Kulm said successful his comments that nan FAA has accrued its hiring owed to accrued request for aerial travel.

Southwest Airlines Flight: Near Miss, and Not a Few Questions

The adjacent telephone pinch Southwest Airlines Flight 1496 underscores nan request for real-time search of commercialized aerial postulation and nan captious domiciled of aerial postulation power systems successful protecting nan lives of hose passengers. It is simply a reminder that some nonstop and collateral risks that protector nan aviation manufacture still persist, while we cannot spend to fto down our guard.

The FAA is still investigating nan incident, and Southwest Airlines has promised to participate afloat successful nan probe. The airline’s accelerated consequence to nan emergency was important to a safe result for its passengers and crew. The incident besides highlights captious issues related to airspace guidance and nan interactions that request to return spot betwixt aerial postulation controllers, pilots and airlines successful bid to support imaginable collisions from occurring.

Final Comments connected Midair Collision Avoidance

As nan probe into nan near-miss continues, aviation authorities and experts are asking for tougher aerial postulation measures and person scrutiny of information practices to debar specified incidents successful nan future. And they will almost surely beef up training programs to thief pilots amended hole for high-stress situations for illustration this one. The communal extremity of preventing midair collisions is still nan attraction of anyone associated pinch aviation.