Los Angeles: Two attendants were injured after a Southwest flight out of Southern California was forced to descend to avoid a potential midair collision.
The crew of Southwest Flight 1496 responded to two onboard traffic alerts Friday afternoon while climbing out of Hollywood Burbank Airport, requiring them to climb and descend to comply with the alerts. The flight continued to Las Vegas, where it landed uneventfully, according to a Southwest Airlines statement.
“Southwest is engaged with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to further understand the circumstances,” said the airline in the statement, adding: “No injuries were immediately reported by customers, but two flight attendants are being treated for injuries.”
Passengers aboard the plane took to social media to share their terrifying experiences, Xinhua news agency reported.
“The pilot had to dive aggressively to avoid midair collision over Burbank airport. Myself & Plenty of people flew out of their seats & bumped heads on the ceiling. A flight attendant needed medical attention,” said Jimmy Dore, a comedian, in a post on X.
“The pilot said his collision warning went off & he needed to avoid a plane coming at us,” he added.
Another passenger said on X: “People were screaming as the plane dove. A flight attendant is being looked at right now with an ice pack on her head.”
The passenger called the incident another screwup that “almost cost the lives of the 150+ people on board.”
About six minutes after the flight took off from Hollywood Burbank Airport and headed to Las Vegas, it abruptly descended 475 feet (144.78 meters) from 14,100 feet (4,297.68 meters), reported local KABC television station, citing data from Flightradar24.
The other plane, a Hawker Hunter, was at an altitude of approximately 14,653 feet (4,466.23 meters) when the Southwest flight began to descend, said the report.
The FAA said it is investigating the incident.
The incident came a week after a US passenger jet was forced to make an “aggressive manoeuvre” to avoid a midair collision with a US Air Force B-52 bomber in North Dakota.
(IANS)
