- A Southwest Airlines flight narrowly avoided a collision with a private jet in Chicago on Tuesday.
- The private jet entered the runway “without authorization,” the FAA said.
- The incident adds to the string of recent safety concerns in aviation.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a near-miss incident between a Southwest Airlines jet and a private jet at Chicago’s Midway Airport on Tuesday.
The moment was captured on video, appearing to show the Southwest plane just feet from above the runway before aborting the landing as the smaller jet crosses ahead of it.
A Southwest spokesperson told Business Insider that the passenger airliner performed a “go-around” to avoid a collision, circling to attempt another landing.
Flightradar24
“The crew followed safety procedures, and the flight landed without incident,” the airline said. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.”
Data from the flight-tracking website Flightradar24 shows the flight originated in Omaha, Nebraska, and safely landed in Chicago about 15 minutes after the go-around at 9:02 a.m. local time.
“Tower, Southwest 2504, how’d that happen?” the Southwest pilot asked air traffic controllers after the go-around, according to radio recordings reviewed by BI.
The FAA told BI that the private Bombardier plane “entered the runway without authorization” and is investigating the incident.
Another safety incident in the US
The near-miss is the latest in a string of recent safety-related events across North America. On Monday, a Delta plane had to return to Atlanta after takeoff due to a reported smoke in the cabin.
Before that, a Delta flight crash-landed in Toronto a week earlier and flipped upside down. In January, an American Airlines plane collided midair with an Army helicopter over Washington, DC, killing 67.
None of the accidents or incidents appear related at this time, though an uptick in near-misses is among the risks worrying aviation industry insiders — especially after the American midair collision.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has vowed to improve the national ATC systems.
