Southwest plane flies just 525 feet over Oklahoma town, prompting altitude warning
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a Southwest Airlines flight that flew barely 500 feet over an Oklahoma town, triggering an automated warning system at air traffic control.
Just after midnight on Wednesday, Southwest flight 4069 descended to approximately 525 feet above the Yukon area – a city on the outskirts of Oklahoma City, according to tracking information from FlightRadar24.
The FAA confirmed to FOX Television Stations that the flight reached "a low altitude" 9 miles from its destination of Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City.
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"Southwest 4069, low altitude alert. You good out there?" a controller is heard saying in an audio archive of transmissions provided by LiveATC.net. The pilots’ response was not audible.
The Boeing 737-800 passenger jet, which departed from Las Vegas, climbed briefly and ultimately "landed safely" at Will Rogers World Airport just after 12 a.m. local time, Southwest Airlines said.
FILE - A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 airplane is pushed back for departure from Baltimore-Washington Airport (BWI) in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 12, 2024. Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images
"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 Southwest spokesperson told FOX Television Stations in a statement.
"Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees," the statement added.
Air traffic control officials at the airport later told The Oklahoman that Southwest 4069 had missed its approach but said there were no issues with the aircraft.
For its part, the FAA launched an investigation into the matter.
The incident this week comes after a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft came within 400 feet of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai in April after weather conditions forced pilots to swiftly change course.
According to a memo from Southwest to pilots, which was obtained by Bloomberg, the incident occurred following an aborted landing attempt due to bad weather that blocked pilots from seeing the runway at the specified altitude.
The memo noted that the captain opted to put the "newer" first officer in command of the 100-mile interisland flight, despite the pending weather.
The less-experienced first officer "inadvertently" pushed forward on the control column, which controls the plane's pitch and roll, then cut the speed, causing the airplane to rapidly descend.
This story was reported from Cincinnati. FOX Business contributed.